According to the latest statistics released by the customs, in the first seven months of 2024, the total import and export volume of China's trade in goods reached 24.83 trillion yuan, achieving a steady growth of 6.2% over the same period last year. This data not only demonstrates the strong resilience of China's foreign trade, but also reflects the positive trend of China's foreign trade in the context of global economic recovery.
In terms of exports, China's performance is particularly outstanding, with the cumulative total export volume in the first seven months reaching 14.26 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.7%. Imports were not to be outdone, with a total of 10.57 trillion yuan, with a growth rate of 5.4%. The resulting trade surplus reached 3.69 trillion yuan, an increase of 10.6% over the same period last year. In US dollar terms, China's total import and export volume in the first seven months was about 3.5 trillion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%, of which exports were 2.01 trillion US dollars, imports were 1.49 trillion US dollars, and the trade surplus reached 518 billion US dollars, an increase of 7.9%.
An in-depth analysis of China's foreign trade data in the first seven months reveals several significant features:
First of all, both general trade and processing trade showed a growth trend. The total import and export volume of general trade reached 16.08 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.9%, accounting for 64.7% of the total foreign trade value. Processing trade grew by 3.2 percent, reaching a total of 4.33 trillion yuan. In addition, the import and export of bonded logistics has also achieved significant growth, with a total of 3.5 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.9%, showing the vigorous development of China's logistics and bonded business.
Second, China's imports and exports with major trading partners have increased. ASEAN continued to be China's largest trading partner, with total bilateral trade reaching 3.92 trillion yuan, up 10.5% year-on-year. The European Union and United States are the second and third largest trading partners, respectively, and the total trade volume with China has also achieved positive growth. It is worth mentioning that although China's trade with Korea has a certain degree of deficit, the overall trade volume still maintained an 8% growth.
Moreover, private enterprises have become an important force in the growth of China's foreign trade. In the first seven months, the total import and export volume of private enterprises reached 13.67 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.9%, accounting for 55.1%, an increase of 2.3 percentage points over the same period last year. This data not only reflects the important position of private enterprises in China's foreign trade, but also demonstrates their strong market competitiveness and adaptability.
From the perspective of export commodity structure, mechanical and electrical products continue to dominate, with total exports reaching 8.41 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.3%, accounting for nearly sixty percent of the total export value. Among them, exports of high-tech products such as automatic data processing equipment and its parts, integrated circuits, and automobiles have grown particularly rapidly. In addition, exports of labour-intensive products and agricultural products have also grown steadily.
In terms of imports, imports of major commodities such as iron ore, coal and natural gas all increased. This not only satisfies the needs of domestic production, but also reflects China's important position in the global commodity market. At the same time, imported mechanical and electrical products have also achieved significant growth, showing that China's industrial upgrading and technological progress on the demand for imported high-end equipment and technology is increasing.
To sum up, China's foreign trade data in the first seven months of 2024 showed a good trend of steady growth. This is not only due to the favorable environment for global economic recovery, but also inseparable from the support of China's foreign trade policy and the joint efforts of foreign trade enterprises. Looking forward to the future, China's foreign trade is expected to continue to maintain a steady growth trend and make greater contributions to the global economic recovery and China's economic development.