China's foreign trade grew 0.2% year-on-year to CNY41.76 trillion in 2023 in yuan-denominated terms, with growth in December at a rate of 2.8%, Customs data showed. While the full-year reading was a slowdown compared with previous years, officials said it was still a “hard-won” achievement, overcoming feeble overseas demand, rising geopolitical tensions and U.S.-led sanctions. New export drivers, led by high-tech and new energy, have been gaining a foothold, and Chinese traders' decisive efforts to diversify export destinations have been successful. Some industry observers anticipate China's trade growth will bounce back to 5% to 6% this year. China is poised to continue maintaining its position as the world's top trading nation for seven consecutive years and its role in the global supply chain will further increase, making it an irreplaceable backbone of the global economy. China's exports gained 0.6% in yuan-denominated terms in 2023, while imports dropped 0.3% last year. In U.S. dollar terms, China’s total trade declined by 5% to USD5.94 trillion, compared to a year earlier. Exports declined by 4.6% to USD3.38 trillion year-on-year, and imports declined by 5.5% to USD2.56 trillion last year.
In December, foreign trade jumped 2.8% year-on-year to CNY3.81 trillion, reaching a monthly historical high. Customs data showed that China's foreign trade slumped slightly at 0.2% in the first three quarters. In 2023, China's trade with BRI partner countries rose 2.8% year-on-year to CNY19.47 trillion, accounting for 46.6% of total trade, 1.2 percentage points higher than 2022.
Meanwhile, trade between China and the U.S. recorded a slump of 11.6% year-on-year in U.S. dollar terms to USD664 billion last year, the first fall since 2019, and a result largely due to declines in global demand and U.S. export sanctions continuing to impede U.S. firms' exports to China, observers said. China's imports from the U.S. dropped by 6.8%, totaling USD164.16 billion, while exports to the U.S. slumped by 13.1%, reaching USD500.03 billion. China's 2023 full-year trade surplus with the U.S. stood at USD336 billion, the first fall since 2019. “The fall in the bilateral trade volume was largely due to U.S. curbs on the Chinese high-tech industry, which has impeded U.S.' exports of many high-tech products to China," Gao Lingyun, Expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), told the Global Times. China’s exports to the United States suffered their deepest decline in 2023 in almost three decades, as Washington’s efforts at reshoring and “friendshoring” supply chains create diversions. Total shipments from China to the U.S. last year fell by 13.1% compared to a year earlier, to USD500.3 billion, according to China customs data. It is the biggest slump since the agency’s records began in 1995 – more than the declines experienced either during the global financial crisis of 2008-09 or the start of the U.S.-China trade war in 2018-19.
Still, analysts said, the dramatic drop does not prove a real reduction in the U.S. reliance on “Made in China”. Rather it indicates a lengthening of the global supply chains, in which China remains an important part. According to U.S. data, China is also set to lose its position as the top exporter to the U.S. for the first time in 17 years. China’s share of U.S. imports fell to 13.7% in the first 11 months of 2023, its lowest level since 2004, based on South China Morning Post calculations. That share peaked at 21.6% in 2017, before the trade war began; it was 16.3% for 2022.
Trade between China and Russia on the other hand hit a record high in 2023, reaching CNY1.69 trillion, an increase of 32.7% on a yearly basis. The total value marks a milestone for bilateral economic ties, as it means the two nations have achieved their USD200 billion trade goal ahead of schedule. In 2019, they set the goal of ramping up bilateral trade to USD200 billion by 2024. China's exports to Russia soared by 53.9% in 2023, while imports from Russia went up by 18.6%.
In 2023, the total value of China's integrated circuit imports plunged 10.6% year-on-year, Customs data showed. In 2023, China's exports of “the new three” – EVs, lithium-ion batteries and solar cells – hit the CNY1 trillion mark for the first time, growing 29.9% year-on-year to CNY1.06 trillion. China's total auto exports hit 4.91 million, up 58% year-on-year.
Lü Daliang, Spokesperson of the General Administration of Customs, said that “China's exports have reached a new high on a high base, not only achieving reasonable growth in volume, but also maintaining overall stability in market share”. “What we faced is worldwide inflation, and the shockwaves have spread universally and evenly in global markets. So growth in positive territory is in itself a good performance compared with other major trading powers,” Bai Ming, Research Fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times. China will release 2023 GDP data on January 17 and announce its annual GDP target for 2024 in early March.
This overview is based on reports by the Global Times, the China Daily and the South China Morning Post.
