China’s imports on the rise
November 14, 2017 Category China News Round-up, Weekly
China’s imports jumped 21.5% year-on-year to CNY10.11 trillion from January through October this year – as domestic demand for bulk commodities, mechanical and electrical products notably surged, the General Administration of Customs announced. The country in the meantime purchased 896 million metric tons of iron ore, 349 million tons of crude oil and 54.16 million tons of natural gas from global markets, up 6.3%, 11.8% and 24.9%, respectively, year-on-year. Xu Hongcai, Economist with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said the import scene remains promising as the demand for and price of bulk commodities have been rising. It also showed that the recovery in the domestic market remains steady.
Eager to support its ongoing industrial upgrade, China also imported CNY4.66 trillion of mechanical and electrical products, growing 14.9% from the same period a year earlier, including 1.01 million units of vehicles. China’s foreign trade volume rose 15.9% year-on-year to CNY22.52 trillion in the first 10 months of 2017, while exports increased 11.7% to CNY12.41 trillion. The trade surplus shrank 17.8% to CNY2.3 trillion in the same period. Both the trade volume and the share of private enterprises increased, as their combined volume rose 17.1% and accounted for 38.4% of the total, larger than the share for the same period of 2016.
“China is no longer betting on exports to drive up the economy, cultivating new growth points via technology upgrades, high-end foreign machinery imports, stimulus measures to boost domestic consumption and adequate investments in fast-growing sectors in global destinations – they have all become indispensable parts for the country to boost its economy,” said Feng Yaoxiang, Spokesman for the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) in Beijing. The country’s trade volume with traditional markets, including the European Union, the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), saw 16.2%, 17.2% and 18.5% year-on-year growth respectively. Jim Miller, Chairman of the U.S. Soybean Export Council, believes that China will continue to increase its agricultural product imports from the U.S. The country has already reached 15 free trade agreements (FTAs) with 23 countries and regions.
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