According to data released by the General Administration of Customs on September 10th, the total value of imports and exports of China's trade in goods (the same below) totaled 28.58 trillion yuan in the first eight months of 2024, an increase of 6 percent over the same period last year. Of this total, exports totaled 16.45 trillion yuan, up 6.9 percent; imports totaled 12.13 trillion yuan, up 4.7 percent; and the trade surplus increased by 13.6 percent to 4.32 trillion yuan.

In dollar terms, China's imports and exports totaled US $4.02 trillion in the first eight months, an increase of 3.7 per cent. Of this total, exports were US $2.31 trillion, up 4.6%; imports were US $1.71 trillion, up 2.5%; and the trade surplus was US $608.49 billion, an increase of 11.2%.

In the first eight months, China's general trade imports and exports totaled 18.46 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.6 percent, accounting for 64.6 percent of China's total foreign trade value. Of this total, exports totaled 10.82 trillion yuan, up 8 percent, and imports totaled 7.64 trillion yuan, up 0.1 percent. In the same period, the import and export of processing trade totaled 5.04 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.1 percent, accounting for 17.6 percent. Of this total, exports totaled 3.17 trillion yuan, up 1.1 percent, while imports totaled 1.87 trillion yuan, up 9.9 percent.

In the first eight months, ASEAN was China's largest trading partner. The total value of our trade with ASEAN was 4.5 trillion yuan, an increase of 10%, accounting for 15.7% of the total value of our foreign trade. Of this total, exports to ASEAN totaled 2.69 trillion yuan, up 13.1 percent, while imports from ASEAN totaled 1.81 trillion yuan, up 5.7 percent. The European Union is my second largest trading partner. The total value of our trade with the European Union is 3.72 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.1%, accounting for 13%. Of this total, exports to the EU totaled 2.44 trillion yuan, up 2.9 percent, while imports from the EU totaled 1.28 trillion yuan, down 2.1 percent. The United States is my third largest trading partner. The total value of our trade with the United States is 3.15 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.4%, accounting for 11%. Of this total, exports to the United States totaled 2.38 trillion yuan, up 5 percent, while imports from the United States totaled 778.93 billion yuan, up 2.3 percent. South Korea is my fourth largest trading partner. The total value of our trade with South Korea is 1.51 trillion yuan, an increase of 8%, accounting for 5.3%. Of this total, exports to South Korea totaled 687.6 billion yuan, down 0.1 percent, while imports from South Korea totaled 826.54 billion yuan, up 15.8 percent.

In the first eight months, imports and exports of private enterprises totaled 15.74 trillion yuan, an increase of 10.5 percent, accounting for 55.1 percent of China's total foreign trade value, an increase of 2.3 percent over the same period last year. Of this total, exports totaled 10.62 trillion yuan, up 9.8 percent, accounting for 64.6 percent of China's total exports, while imports totaled 5.12 trillion yuan, up 11.9 percent, accounting for 42.2 percent of China's total imports. In the same period, imports and exports of foreign-invested enterprises totaled 8.4 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.5 percent, accounting for 29.4 percent of China's total foreign trade value. Of this total, exports totaled 4.53 trillion yuan, up 1.8 percent, and imports totaled 3.87 trillion yuan, up 1.1 percent. Imports and exports of state-owned enterprises totaled 4.37 trillion yuan, down 0.1 percent, accounting for 15.3 percent of China's total foreign trade value. Of this total, exports totaled 1.27 trillion yuan, up 2.6 percent, while imports totaled 3.1 trillion yuan, down 1.1 percent.

In the first eight months, China exported 9.72 trillion yuan of mechanical and electrical products, an increase of 8.8 percent, accounting for 59.1 percent of China's total export value. Of this total, automatic data processing equipment and its spare parts were 942.38 billion yuan, up 11.6 percent; integrated circuits were 736.04 billion yuan, up 24.8 percent; cars were 540.84 billion yuan, up 22.2 percent; and mobile phones were 514.37 billion yuan, up 0.5 percent. In the same period, exports of Lomi products totaled 2.8 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.2 percent, accounting for 17 percent. Of this total, clothing and clothing accessories were 744.39 billion yuan, up 1 percent; textiles were 661.6 billion yuan, up 5.8 percent; and plastic products were 497.95 billion yuan, up 9 percent. Exports of agricultural products totaled 463.2 billion yuan, up 4.4 percent. In addition, exports of steel products were 70.575 million tons, up 20.6 percent; oil products were 40.004 million tons, down 5.8 percent; and fertilizers were 19.713 million tons, up 4.4 percent.

In the first eight months, China imported 815 million tons of iron ore, up 5.2%, the average import price (the same below) was 811.5 yuan per ton, up 3.6%; crude oil 367 million tons, down 3.1%, 4318 yuan per ton, up 7.3%; coal 342 million tons, up 11.8%, 709.6 yuan per ton, down 12.8%; natural gas 87.128 million tons, up 12.3%, 3484.7 yuan per ton, down 7.6% Soybeans 70.478 million tons, up 2.8%, 3630.9 yuan per ton, down 15.1%; oil products 32.506 million tons, up 6.2%, 4399.6 yuan per ton, up 9.2%. In addition, imports of plastics in primary shapes increased by 0.4% to 10800 yuan per ton, down 0.5%, while unwrought copper and copper materials increased by 3% to 67200 yuan per ton, up 10.2%. Source: Sinochem New Network