CHINA’S foreign trade closed 2023 with better-than-expected performances and new driving forces adding to the upward momentum despite challenges on both domestic and international fronts.

China’s total imports and exports of goods expanded 0.2% year on year to 41.76 trillion yuan (US$5.88 trillion) in 2023, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said Friday.

Exports grew 0.6% year on year to 23.77 trillion yuan, while imports edged down 0.3% from a year earlier to 17.99 trillion yuan, the data showed.

The trade data have demonstrated that China’s export products hold solid competitive advantages, with tech-driven products serving as new growth engines of the exports, GAC deputy head Wang Lingjun told a press conference.

The total export value of China’s new tech-intensive green trio, namely solar batteries, lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles, surged 29.9% to 1.06 trillion yuan in 2023, with the figure topping the one-trillion-yuan mark for the first time.

The export value of machinery and electronic products, accounting for 58.6% of total exports, increased 2.9% during the period.

Although the overall 2023 export growth eased compared with that of the previous years, GAC spokesperson Lyu Daliang highlighted the fact that China’s export figure has reached a new high on a high base.

The country has achieved reasonable growth in trade volume and retained its global share, Lyu said, citing the latest World Trade Organization data that had anticipated China’s global share in terms of exports to remain at a high level of 14% in 2023.

In response to a media query on the drop in import value, Lyu said that it can be attributed to falling commodity import prices. “China’s imports in terms of quantity in fact grew, reflecting the continued uptick in production and booming consumption demand.”

Friday’s GAC data also showed that private businesses have played a bigger role in prompting the growth of foreign trade. According to Wang, total trade business entities with import and export records surpassed 600,000 for the first time in 2023, and private enterprises stood at 556,000, taking the lion’s share. (SD-Agencies)