China's total imports and exports expanded at the fastest pace in six quarters to hit a record of more than CNY10 trillion in the first quarter of 2024, adding to a growing number of signs of strong recovery momentum. Chinese exporters remain confident in further improvement this year. In the first three months, in yuan terms, total imports and exports grew by 5% year-on-year to reach CNY10.17 trillion, exceeding CNY10 trillion for the first time during the same period, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC). The growth speed is also the fastest in six quarters. During the period, China's exports increased by 4.9% year-on-year to CNY5.74 trillion, while imports grew by 5% year-on-year to CNY4.43 trillion. However, total foreign trade dropped by 1.3% year-on-year in March, with exports falling 3.8% year-on-year due to a high base during the same month last year. In terms of products, exports of mechanical and electrical products increased by 6.8% year-on-year to hit CNY3.39 trillion, accounting for 59.2% of the total export value. Exports of cars and ships jumped by 21.7% and 113.1%, according to the GAC. Imports and exports in the private sector grew by 10.7% year-on-year in the first quarter, accounting for 54.3% of China's total. Foreign trade through cross-border e-commerce jumped by 9.6% in the first quarter.
China's trade with ASEAN expanded by 6.4% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024 in yuan terms, but trade with the EU dropped by 3.5% and trade with the U.S. fell 0.7%. Notably, exports to the U.S. grew 2.1% year-on-year, while imports from the U.S. fell 7.7%. China's trade with Russia also maintained a solid 8.5% growth, with imports from Russia jumping 10.8%. “The vitality in foreign trade in the first quarter is mostly supported by a strong recovery in domestic consumption as well as manufacturing,” Dong Shaopeng, Senior Research Fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.
The South China Morning Post adds that China has surpassed Germany in the exports of some products, a changing of the guard which has already altered the balance of trade in major markets, according to a new report by Allianz that declared “the trade tide is turning”. China has been “making significant gains” in the European market across sectors like computers, electronics and optical products, metals and basic pharmaceuticals. “The momentum is especially strong in electrical equipment, which has risen by 5.1 percentage points from 2018 to 2023 and 7 percentage points from 2013 to 2023,” the report noted. China’s trade surplus stood at USD58.6 billion in March, compared with USD125.1 billion in the first two months of the year. China remains Germany’s largest trading partner.
China’s global export market share has continued to increase, from less than 4% in 2000 to 14% in 2022. Meanwhile, the corresponding figure for Germany dropped to 8% in 2022, after a long period of stagnation at around 10%. “China’s global export share has surpassed that of Germany in three out of four main export sectors,” Allianz said: machinery and equipment, chemicals and a broad category covering computers, telecoms, electronics and household equipment. The company noted that German machinery firms, manufacturers of internal combustion engine vehicles and producers of specialized chemicals are facing “intense competition from Chinese rivals” backed by competitive prices and state support. Despite difficulties in the Chinese market, the report said that it remains an attractive destination for investments by large German corporations, as Germany's direct investment in China increased fivefold between 2010 and 2022.
