The General Administration of Customs announced today (March 7) that China’s total import and export value in the first two months of this year increased by 13.3% over the same period last year, and foreign trade continued to maintain a good momentum.

According to customs statistics, in the first two months of this year, China’s total import and export value was 6.2 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.3% over the same period last year. Among them, the export was 3.47 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.6%; Imports reached 2.73 trillion yuan, an increase of 12.9%.

In terms of major commodities, the export of mechanical and electrical products was 2.02 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.9%, accounting for 58.3% of the total export value, of which the export of electronic components and automobile increased by 24% and 99.1% respectively. In terms of import, the import of mechanical and electrical products and agricultural products was 1.11 trillion yuan and 225.44 billion yuan respectively, an increase of 6.7% and 7.7%.

Li Kuiwen, director of the statistics and Analysis Department of the General Administration of Customs: in the first two months, China’s foreign trade import and export maintained a steady growth year-on-year. Although the external environment faced by foreign trade development is more complex and uncertain, it still achieved a stable start, which is mainly due to China’s strong economic toughness, the long-term fundamentals have not changed, and the steady growth policies and measures are moving forward.

In the first two months, China’s foreign trade structure continued to optimize, with general trade import and export of 3.94 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.3%. The import and export of private enterprises reached 2.99 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.1%, and the proportion increased by 1.1 percentage points to 48.2% compared with the same period last year, becoming an important force in the growth of China’s foreign trade.

Customs statistics show that in the first two months, China’s imports and exports with the EU, ASEAN and the United States were 874.64 billion yuan, 870.47 billion yuan and 785.92 billion yuan, an increase of 12.4%, 10.5% and 9.7% respectively. Over the same period one country and the “one belt, one road” countries have increased their import and export volume by 1 trillion and 920 billion yuan, an increase of 18.3%, which is faster than the overall 5 percentage point.

At the same time, Li Kuiwen, director of the General Administration of customs and director of the Department of import and export statistics, increased by 1.5 trillion yuan year-on-year. With the gradual release of the dividends of RCEP system, the economic and trade development achievements of RCEP members will be further demonstrated.