Review of China’s Foreign Trade in the First Three Quarters of 2024

( The Chinese version shall prevail. )

According to Customs statistics, China’s foreign trade in goods in the first three quarters of 2024 reached RMB32.33 trillion, up by 5.3% year-on-year. Exports grew by 6.2% to RMB18.62 trillion and imports increased by 4.1% to RMB13.71 trillion.

The details are as follows:

1. Imports and exports in goods hit a record high in the first three quarters of 2024 with each quarter exceeding RMB10 trillion. Foreign trade in the first three quarters of 2024 surpassed RMB32 trillion for the first time compared with the same period of the previous years. Imports and exports stood at RMB10.15 trillion in Q1, RMB11 trillion in Q2, and RMB11.17 trillion in Q3, respectively. All of them exceeded RMB10 trillion, which was also the first time compared with the same period of the previous years.

2. Foreign trade entities have maintained strong vitality with private enterprises registering rapid growth in imports and exports. In the first three quarters of 2024, imports and exports of China’s private enterprises rose by 9.4% to RMB17.78 trillion, accounting for 55% of the country’s total with an increase of 2.1 percentage points. Foreign-invested enterprises marked RMB9.53 trillion in imports and exports, up by 1.1% year-on-year. They have registered positive year-on-year growth for two consecutive quarters in the first three quarters of 2024. State-owned enterprises marked RMB4.95 trillion in imports and exports, up by 0.1% year-on-year.

3. Trading partners became more diverse and trade with over 160 countries and regions grew. China’s trade with BRI partner countries totaled RMB15.21 trillion, up by 6.3% year-on-year, with its proportion in China’s total foreign trade increasing to 47.1%. China’s trade with RCEP trading partners scored RMB9.63 trillion, up by 4.5% year-on-year. China’s trade with ASEAN scored RMB5.09 trillion, up by 9.4% year-on-year. Over the same period, China’s trade with the EU and the US reached RMB4.18 trillion and RMB3.59 trillion, up by 0.9% and 4.2%, respectively.

4. Structure of exported products has been optimized and exports of high-tech equipment grew by over 40%. In the first three quarters of 2024, exports of electro-mechanical products increased by 8% to RMB11.03 trillion, taking up 59.3% of China’s total exports. Exports of high-tech equipment rose by 43.4%. Exports of integrated circuits, motor vehicles and household appliances grew by 22%, 22.5% and 15.5%, respectively. Exports of labour-intensive products grew by 2.8% to RMB3.13 trillion.

5. Imports of commodities were diversified and imports of bulk commodities witnessed steady growth. In the first three quarters of 2024, imports of bulk commodities were up by 5%. China imported 901 million tons of energy products including crude oil, natural gas and coal, up by 4.8%; 1.138 billion tons of metalliferous ores including iron ores and aluminium ores, up by 4.9%. Over the same period, imports of integrated circuits and parts of motor vehicles grew by 13.5% and 4.6%. Imports of consumer products exceeded RMB1.3 trillion.