China's foreign trade turnover grew by 5 percent in the first quarter of 2024.
The total volume of China's foreign trade in goods in yuan in the first quarter of 2024 increased by 5 percent year-on-year, with new records set for both the scale of the figure and its growth rate, official data released on Friday showed.
According to the General Administration of Customs /GCP/ of the People's Republic of China, the figure for the period from January to March in the country amounted to 10.17 trillion yuan /about $ 1.43 trillion/. US DOLLARS/.
According to the data, China's exports grew by 4.9 percent year-on-year to 5.74 trillion yuan, while imports increased by 5 percent to 4.43 trillion yuan.
The country's foreign trade turnover in the period exceeded 10 trillion yuan for the first time in history, while the growth rate reached a new high in the past 6 quarters, said Wang Lingjun, deputy head of China's State Customs Committee, at a press conference.
The growth rate of China's trade with countries participating in the joint construction of the Belt and Road and other BRICS countries in the first quarter of this year was faster than the growth rate of the index as a whole.
The data shows that China's trade with the Belt and Road partner countries increased 5.5 percent to 4.82 trillion yuan, accounting for 47.4 percent of China's total foreign trade. Meanwhile, the European Union, the United States, the Republic of Korea and Japan together accounted for 33.4 percent of the country's total foreign trade turnover.
China's trade with both Latin America and five Central Asian countries recorded double-digit growth. Over the same period, trade with traditional markets such as the US and Japan recovered positively, with import and export declines of 5.9 pp and 1.2 pp, respectively, in the first quarter compared with the same period in 2023.
China's foreign trade is expected to continue to show an improving trend in the second quarter of 2024, while it will mainly remain in the growth range in the first half of the year, Wang Lingjun summarized.
Eight missing after SITC boxship collides with Chinese fishing trawler
A ship operated by SITC Container Lines collided with a Chinese fishing trawler off Hainan Island, China just after midnight local time on 3 April, leaving eight persons missing after the trawler capsized.
The Panama-flagged ship, 1,032 TEU SITC Danang had just departed China’s Qinzhou port and was on its way to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, when the accident happened around 12.15 am local time.
The collision with the fishing trawler, Yuenan Aoyu 36062, occurred 22 nautical miles southwest of Yinggehai town in Ledong, off Hainan’s southwestern coast.
The Chinese Navy and Coast Guard mobilized 21 ships and five aircrafts to undertake water and air searches at the scene. Three professional divers have also joined the rescue mission. At the time of writing, none of the missing persons has been found.
As the cause of the accident is being investigated, SITC Danang has been anchored in Sanya, Hainan.
SITC’s representative told the media that the ship is owned by Japanese tonnage provider Shoei Kisen Kaisha, and technical management is handled by a third-party company, whose staff have gone to Hainan to make the necessary arrangements.
The 4th China International Consumer Goods Expo will be the largest in its history
The 4th China International Consumer Goods Expo, scheduled to be held from April 13 to 18 in Haikou City /adm. center of Hainan Province, South China/, will occupy an exhibition area of 128,000 sq. m., which is larger than that of previous events. Hainan, South China/, will occupy an exhibition area of 128 thousand square meters, which is larger than the area of a similar zone in the framework of previous events.
Representatives of more than 3,000 brands from 59 countries and regions of the world will take part in the exhibition, thanks to the implementation of the visa-free entry policy from these countries and regions to Hainan Province, Hainan said Wednesday. Hainan, said Sheng Qiuping, vice minister of commerce of the People's Republic of China, at a press conference on Wednesday.
According to him, China's retail sales of consumer goods, which is the main indicator of the country's consumer power, rose 5.5 percent year-on-year in the first two months of this year and reached 8.13 trillion yuan / about $1.15 trillion/, demonstrating the country's sustainability. This demonstrates the stability and vitality of the Chinese consumer market.
The number of granted patents for inventions increased significantly in January-February 2024
In the first two months of this year, the number of invention patents granted in China rose 77.56 percent year-on-year, according to data from the State Intellectual Property Administration of the People's Republic of China.
According to the latest monthly report released by the aforementioned office, 152,258 invention patents were granted in China from January to February this year. Notably, corporate patents account for the majority and show the highest year-on-year growth rate compared to patents obtained by universities, research institutes and individuals.
The number of utility model patents and industrial design patents decreased compared to the same period last year, resulting in a 9.9 percent year-on-year decline in the total number of patents in these three categories.
China released an action plan to promote high-level opening up and attract foreign investment
Recently, the Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China released an action plan to steadily promote high-level opening up and more actively attract and utilize foreign investment.
The action plan emphasizes that foreign investment is an important force for promoting the process of Chinese-style modernization and the overall prosperity and development of both the Chinese and global economies.
To more vigorously attract and utilize foreign investment, it is necessary to fully, accurately and comprehensively implement the new development concept and create a first-class internationalized business environment that respects market principles and the rule of law, thereby strengthening foreign investors' confidence in their ability to develop in China, the action plan said.
The document puts forward 24 measures in five areas, including enhancing market access, making foreign investment more attractive, creating a level playing field, promoting the inflow of innovative factors, and better aligning China's current regulations with international trade and economic rules of high standards.
According to the document, the country will prudently reduce the negative list for foreign investment access and launch pilot programs to lower the threshold for foreign investors in science and technology innovation.