Foreign trade points to sustained momentum

China's foreign trade, buoyed by well-focused government support, an optimized trading structure and the diversification of trading partners, posted a better-than-anticipated performance in 2023, officials and experts said on Friday.

However, weighed down by sluggish external demand, rising trade protectionism, intensifying geopolitical tensions and recent disruptions to key trade routes, the country may still face severe challenges, they added, calling for more favorable policies to help businesses navigate the mounting headwinds in trade.

The country's foreign trade registered 41.76 trillion yuan ($5.82 trillion) in 2023, up 0.2 percent year-on-year, Wang Lingjun, vice-minister of the General Administration of Customs, said at a news conference.

Noting that exports edged up 0.6 percent year-on-year to 23.77 trillion yuan last year, Lyu Daliang, the administration's spokesman, said that while the growth rate of exports may appear to have decelerated, it is crucial to consider the substantial base from which China's exports are expanding. The country's foreign trade operations have maintained overall stability in 2023, with a notable improvement during the fourth quarter. In particular, total imports and exports for December alone came in at 3.81 trillion yuan, hitting a record high on a monthly basis.

The strong finish in China's foreign trade last year, when global trade slowed as higher interest rates in the United States, Europe and other major consumer markets dampened demand, will shore up business sentiment, said Zhang Yansheng, chief researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

Looking ahead, the global economy will continue to grapple with an arduous recovery process, and the pace of the global trade revival remains stagnant, posing grave challenges for China to continue its stable foreign trade growth, Zhang said.

The outlook for global trade in 2024 remains "highly uncertain and generally pessimistic", the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said in a report released in mid-December, citing factors such as ongoing geopolitical tensions, escalating debt and widespread economic fragility.

That said, according to a recent survey, more than three-quarters of the companies anticipate stable or increased trade activities this year.

The positive outlook for China's foreign trade sector is attributable to preferential policy mixes, as well as a diversified range of trade partners and an increased export proportion of high-value-added products, said Xu Hongcai, deputy director of the China Association of Policy Science's Economic Policy Committee.

Moreover, outbound shipments of mechanical and electrical products, highlighted by electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells, climbed 2.9 percent year-on-year to 13.92 trillion yuan and accounted for 58.6 percent of the total exports, official data showed.

On the import side, which went down 0.3 percent year-on-year to 17.99 trillion yuan in 2023, spokesman Lyu said that the marginal decrease was primarily driven by a decline in prices. The quantity of imports recorded a growth of 2.9 percent year-on-year.