According to data released by the General Administration of Customs on January 14th, the total import and export value of China's goods trade in 2020 was 32.16 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.9% compared to 2019, setting a new historical high. Among them, exports reached 17.93 trillion yuan, an increase of 4%; Imports amounted to 14.23 trillion yuan, a decrease of 0.7%; The trade surplus was 3.7 trillion yuan, an increase of 27.4%.
"In the past year, in the face of the severe and complex international situation and the severe impact of the COVID-19, China's foreign trade imports and exports were significantly better than expected, the scale of foreign trade hit a new record high, and China became the only major economy in the world to achieve positive growth in trade in goods, fully reflecting the strong resilience and comprehensive competitiveness of China's foreign trade." Li Kuiwen, spokesman of the General Administration of Customs and director of the Department of Statistics and Analysis, said at the press conference held by the State Council Information Office on the 14th.
——The total import and export value of goods trade of 32.16 trillion yuan is attributed to China's super large market advantage and continuously improving enterprise competitiveness.
Recently, the lowest temperature in Suzhou, Jiangsu is close to zero degrees Celsius, while the Wuzhong Comprehensive Bonded Zone located in the south of Suzhou is still a hot scene. According to data from Suzhou Customs, in 2020, the value of goods entering and exiting the comprehensive bonded zone under classified supervision was 4.97 billion yuan, an increase of 95% compared to 2019.
"In 2020, China's foreign trade quickly stabilized after experiencing fluctuations in the first quarter, with the scale of imports and exports reaching a historic high and international market share also reaching a historic high." Li Kuiwen introduced that according to calculations by the World Trade Organization, in the first 10 months of 2020, China's international market share in imports and exports, exports, and imports accounted for 12.8%, 14.2%, and 11.5%, respectively, an increase of 0.8, 0.4, and 0.7 percentage points from historical highs, China's position as the largest country in goods trade has been further consolidated.
"The advantage of China's large-scale market provides strong support for expanding imports." Li Kuiwen said that under the impact of the epidemic, global trade has significantly shrunk, and China's advantage in the large-scale market is more obvious, with stable import demand. In 2020, the import volume of resource-based products such as crude oil and metal ore in China increased by 7.3% and 7%, respectively. At the same time, China's exports of traditional advantageous products continue to grow. The annual export of mechanical and electrical products reached 10.66 trillion yuan, an increase of 6%. The exports of laptops, household appliances, medical instruments and devices increased by 20.4%, 24.2%, and 41.5%, respectively.
——The total import and export value of goods trade of 32.16 trillion yuan is attributed to the continuous enhancement of the vitality of foreign trade entities.
"Experts from Beijing Customs guided us on site to improve production and processing technology in accordance with EU requirements, ensuring that the production and processing of casings fully comply with EU requirements." Liu Changfang, Manager of the Import and Export Department of Beijing Qiushi Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., said that in 2020, the company's foreign trade achieved a counter trend growth, with an accumulated export of casings of 180 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10%.
In 2020, various regions and departments carried out the "Six Stabilizations" work, implemented the "Six Guarantees" task, coordinated the prevention and control of the epidemic at ports, and stabilized foreign trade work. While fully protecting the main body of the foreign trade market, they promoted the continuous enhancement of the vitality of foreign trade entities.
According to data, in 2020, China had 531000 enterprises with import and export performance, an increase of 6.2%. The annual import and export of private enterprises reached 14.98 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.1%, accounting for 46.6% of China's total foreign trade value.
——The total import and export value of goods trade of 32.16 trillion yuan is due to the vigorous development of new forms of foreign trade.
On January 10th, Shandong Overseas Trading Co., Ltd. successfully loaded a batch of export goods worth about 150000 yuan from Qingdao Qianwan Port and set sail. "Qingdao Customs has launched a 24-hour appointment overtime system, which has provided convenience for us to carry out cross-border e-commerce exports," said the relevant person in charge of the company.
Data shows that in 2020, new forms of foreign trade in China flourished. The customs innovatively launched a pilot program for cross-border e-commerce enterprise to enterprise (B2B) exports, with cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reaching 1.69 trillion yuan, an increase of 31.1%, and market procurement exports increasing by 25.2% throughout the year. New business models have become an important force in stabilizing foreign trade.
"In 2021, with the accelerated construction of a new development pattern dominated by domestic circulation and the mutual promotion of domestic and international dual circulation, high-level opening up to the outside world continues to advance, new international cooperation and competitive advantages continue to form, and China's foreign trade import and export scale is expected to continue to grow." Li Kuiwen said.