The latest data released by the General Administration of Customs of China on the 14th shows that in the first half of this year, China's total import and export value of goods trade was 25.47 trillion yuan (RMB, the same below, approximately 15.32 trillion ringgit). For the first time in history, the import and export volume exceeded 25 trillion yuan for the same period, a year-on-year increase of 16.9%. Of this, exports totaled 14.73 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.4%; imports were 10.74 trillion yuan, up 22.1% year-on-year.
According to a China News Service report, by quarter, in the second quarter, China's import and export reached 13.61 trillion yuan, up 18.4% year-on-year, marking the highest quarterly year-on-year growth rate since the third quarter of 2021. In June alone, import and export were 4.78 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.2%, maintaining growth for 17 consecutive months.
By region, in the first half of the year, China's imports and exports with Belt and Road Initiative countries reached 12.97 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.8%, accounting for 50.9% of total foreign trade value. Imports and exports with neighboring countries totaled 9.44 trillion yuan, up 20.6% year-on-year. Growth rates for Latin America and Africa were 16.2% and 19.6% respectively, while trade with the European Union rose by 10.2% year-on-year.
By products, in the first half of the year, China's exports of electromechanical products amounted to 9.36 trillion yuan, up 20.1% year-on-year, accounting for 63.5% of total exports, an increase of 3.5 percentage points over the same period last year. Exports of high-tech products were 3.26 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 39%.
On the import side, in the first half of the year, China's import growth was 8.7 percentage points higher than export growth, promoting balanced development of imports and exports. Among them, imports of bulk commodities such as energy and metallic ores reached 1.429 billion tons, up 3.4% year-on-year; imports of electromechanical products totaled 4.41 trillion yuan, up 28% year-on-year; imports of agricultural products were 768.48 billion yuan, up 8.6% year-on-year.
At the press conference held on the same day, Wang Jun, Deputy Director General of the General Administration of Customs of China, stated that in the first half of this year, China's foreign trade maintained sound performance, with notable achievements in stabilizing scale and optimizing structure. Although certain pressures are anticipated for China's foreign trade in the second half of the year, China possesses strong innovation momentum, vibrant market entities, and a high level of openness.