The Outlook For Foreign Trade In The Second Half Of The Year Remains Optimistic

Since the beginning of this year, the external challenges facing foreign trade have indeed increased significantly. The State Council has issued policies and measures in a timely manner to fully support foreign trade companies in exploring markets. On the whole, in the face of the severe and complex external environment, foreign trade withstood the pressure in the first half of the year and showed strong resilience. There are three outstanding performances:

First, the overall stability of the trade scale has been achieved, and the trade volume has maintained growth. From January to June, my country's import and export of goods exceeded 20 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.1%, compared with the same period before the epidemic, that is, the first half of 2019, an increase of 36.7%. China continues to maintain its status as the largest country in trade in goods. The market share increased steadily. According to the latest data from the WTO, in the first quarter, global exports fell by 1.6% year-on-year, and China's export market share in the international market was 14%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points compared with the first quarter of last year. In the second quarter, China's export share in the international market still maintained a steady and rising trend. Against the background of sluggish demand in the global market as a whole, the exports of surrounding countries and regions generally declined by double digits. China's export market is diversified and its products are abundant, effectively hedging the impact of weak external demand and the cyclical decline of some products. The current performance of China's foreign trade is in line with expectations.

Second, the continuous improvement of trade quality has been achieved. From January to June this year, the share of emerging markets in imports and exports increased by 1.8 percentage points compared with the same period last year, reaching 63.5%. China's imports and exports to FTA partners increased by 2.4%, and those to countries along the "Belt and Road" increased by 9.8%, both of which were higher than the overall export growth rate. Export products are being upgraded in quality, and high-quality, high-tech, high value-added products are growing strongly. In the first half of the year, electric passenger vehicles, solar cells and lithium batteries together boosted the overall export growth rate by 1.8 percentage points. Foreign trade formats are also innovating and developing. The Ministry of Commerce replicated and promoted 30 excellent practice cases of new foreign trade formats across the country. In the first half of the year, cross-border e-commerce exports increased by 19.9%, maintaining a relatively rapid development momentum.

Third, foreign trade effectively serves the overall situation of economic development. Foreign trade continues to promote the recovery of the national economy. Foreign trade directly and indirectly created 190 million jobs. Last year, the Ministry of Commerce canceled the filing and registration of foreign trade operators, which further stimulated the enthusiasm of market players. From January to June, there were 35,000 new foreign trade companies with import and export performance year-on-year. In terms of guaranteeing the supply of the domestic market, the Ministry of Commerce actively expanded the import of grain, energy resource products and high-quality consumer goods to meet the needs of domestic production and living. In terms of expanding opening up, the RCEP will be fully effective for the 15 signatory countries, and the internal and external circulation will be smoother.