CHINA’S foreign trade jumped 10.7% to 9.42 trillion yuan (US$1.48 trillion) in the first quarter of 2022 compared to a year earlier, customs data showed yesterday.

From January to March, exports rose 13.4% year on year to 5.23 trillion yuan, Li Kuiwen, a spokesman of the General Administration of Customs, said at a press conference.

Meanwhile, the imports stood at 4.19 trillion yuan, up 7.5% from the same period last year, Li said.

The recent spread of a new coronavirus variant and geopolitical conflicts have brought uncertainties to China’s economy. In March, the world’s second-largest economy saw its manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index drop under 50 for the first time in five months, indicating contraction of factory activity.

Trade between China and members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) saw steady growth since the trade agreement took effect at the beginning of this year, official data showed.

China’s trade with the other 14 member states expanded 6.9% year on year to 2.86 trillion yuan in the first quarter of 2022, accounting for 30.4% of China’s total foreign trade value, according to the data.

In the first three months, China’s trade with the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan each took up 20% of the country’s total trade volume with RCEP members. And exports and imports between China and multiple countries, including ROK, Malaysia, and New Zealand, registered double-digit year-on-year growth, said the GAC. (SD-Xinhua)