China’s foreign trade leaps by almost 10% in 1st three quarters: Report

Beijing, Oct 13: China registered a record trade volume of 22.28 trillion yuan in the first three quarters of the current year, which is up from 9.9 per cent compared to the previous year, Chinese customs data revealed on Friday, October 12, according to a report in CGTN.

According to the General Administration of Customs (GAC), exports went up 6.5 per cent year-on-year in the period between January and September to 11.86 trillion yuan. Imports, on the other hand, grew at 14.1 per cent to 10.42 trillion yuan, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.44 trillion yuan.

For the time period of January-September, foreign shipments of crude oil and natural gas reached 336 million tons and 64.78 million tons, respectively, going up by 5.9 and 34 per cent respectively, the data revealed.

It said China's trade volume with major trading partners also went up in the first three quarters. While trade with the European Union increased by 7.3 per cent, that with the USA and Asean countries went up by 6.5 per cent and 12.6 per cent, respectively.

It also mentioned that trade with nations along the Belt and Road Initiative routes totalled 5.31 trillion yuan, up by 12 per cent year on year and almost three percentage faster than the average growth rate, the report said.

"The encouraging performance of China's foreign trade during the first three quarters laid a solid foundation for the whole year from the trade perspective, and the trade growth was driven by private companies and diversified trade channels with emerging economies, in particular those along the Belt and Road Initiative such as Russia and Poland," Li Kuiwen, a GAC spokesperson was quoted as saying.