-Jiangsu’s import and export reached RMB .1 trillion, down .% year-on-year.

The General Administration of Customs announced on the 8th that the total import and export value of the country from January to May was 9.47 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 7.8%. Among them, exports were 5.4 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.8%; imports were 4.07 trillion yuan, a decrease of 17.2%. Jiangsu, a major foreign trade province, completed import and export of 1.32 trillion yuan during the same period, a year-on-year decrease of 4.5%, of which exports were 812.03 billion yuan, a decrease of 1.2%.
Comparing the overall situation across the country, our province’s import and export related indicators have mixed performance, and the “sword of pressure” hanging over the heads of foreign trade companies is still cold.
A few days ago, Nanjing Customs held a provincial-level foreign trade enterprise symposium. In the speeches of the CEOs, “decline” has almost become a lingua franca for describing the trajectory of foreign trade this year.
Zhang Peigen, Vice President of Jiangsu Soho International Group Co., Ltd., said, “From January to May, our imports and exports dropped by 6.47% compared with the same period last year, and the decline in exports reached 10%.”
“Our company was originally engaged in importing bulk raw materials such as iron ore, wool, wood, etc., but it has declined sharply in the past two years. The company has set up a storage terminal in Jiangyin and a new material factory in Zhangjiagang. However, due to the impact of the general environment, this year we are under great pressure , import and export from January to May were US$230 million, a decrease of 24%.” Bi Wu, general manager of Jiangsu Haiqi Foreign Trade Company, said.
In the overall foreign trade situation, foreign-invested enterprises, which account for one-third of the world, will find it difficult to get out of the independent market. A US-funded company in Suzhou that mainly produces computer CPUs exported US$1.85 billion last year, which has dropped by about 30% this year.
For my country’s foreign trade companies, an important reason for the heavy pressure on import and export operations is, first of all, the weak recovery of the international economy and the lack of fundamental improvement in the foreign trade situation. Looking at my country’s major trading partners, in the first five months, except for the growth in exports to the United States and ASEAN, exports to the European Union, Japan, etc. showed a downward trend. As a result, the total import and export volume has experienced negative growth for eight consecutive months, especially double-digit negative growth for five consecutive months.
Analyzing the structure of “Made in Jiangsu” export products, labor-intensive products such as textiles and clothing, light industrial shoes and hats account for a considerable proportion. In the past two years, the “stagflation” in export prices caused by fierce competition in the international market and the squeeze from rising domestic labor costs have made many foreign trade companies difficult. Labor costs have increased by 20% annually on average, which has become a norm that domestic enterprises must face. Wang Liping, general manager of Lianyungang Jindian Clothing Company, which specializes in the production of tapestries, said that the wages of the company’s more than 300 workers have increased every year, and now this part of the cost is at least 120 million yuan a year.
Zhu Jin, general manager of Jiangsu Kaiyuan International Group, said frankly, “The company mainly exports clothing, textiles, footwear and other products. In recent years, labor costs have risen sharply, which has greatly compressed corporate profits. We feel that new advantages have not been fully established. , but the traditional advantages are slowly being lost.”
Compared with the rigid consumer demand for textiles, clothing, shoes and hats, etc., ships are more sensitive to changes in the international market. A few years ago, the international market was booming, and ships were very popular on the export stage of our province. Some companies in unrelated industries began to get involved in the shipbuilding industry, and many trading companies also started ship export business. However, since the global financial crisis and the European debt crisis caused ship exports to plummet, ship exports are still sluggish. “At this time last year, we had exported US$40 million, but not a single ship has been exported this year.” A company CEO said.
Directly related to import and export is the exchange rate. The euro and the yen continue to fall, and the RMB exchange rate is strong, making exports even more difficult.
“In June last year, domestic procurement has been declining. The RMB is strong and the export decline is very severe. Even if we do business with other developing countries, we have also reduced by 20-30%.” said Hu Haijing, deputy general manager of SUMEC Technology Trading Co., Ltd.
Zhang Peigen also said, “Europe is an important market for traditional textile exports, but the euro exchange rate has fallen very sharply over the past year. On June 3 last year, 1 euro was still at a high of 8.49 against the yuan. On June 3 this year, it fell to 6.87. This directly restricts our ability to receive orders from Europe.”
The Japanese yen exchange rate continues to fall, recently hitting a new low in more than 20 months. Our province’s trade with Japan has also been declining. From January to April, the province’s import and export to Japan was 109.02 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 9.6%.
Although the pressure is unprecedented, the “carriage” mission of foreign trade to drive stable economic growth in the province under the new normal cannot be reduced.
At present, all aspects of our province have taken action. The Provincial Department of Commerce closely follows the “Belt and Road” national strategy, adjusts and optimizes the use of business development funds, and increases the maximum subsidy limit by 30% for “Belt and Road” related projects. Integrate and establish the “One Belt and One Road” fund, focusing on promoting the export of large complete sets of equipment such as rail transit, electric power communications, engineering machinery, CNC machine tools, chemical equipment, and offshore engineering ships, and cultivating new growth points for trade.
As the main port supervision departments, Nanjing Customs and Jiangsu Inspection and Quarantine Bureau have frequently made new moves in innovative management and promoting trade facilitation, improving customs clearance efficiency of enterprises and reducing import and export costs. Starting from May 12, the action of “visiting 100 enterprises, discussing with 1,000 enterprises, and consulting with 10,000 enterprises” to serve Jiangsu’s foreign trade will be implemented, and 15 important innovations including the “single window” model will be launched throughout the province and the “Three Ones” will be deployed and promoted in June.measures. Strengthen law enforcement cooperation and information sharing, break down barriers and barriers, change “series law enforcement” to “parallel law enforcement”, and change “each in charge of one thing” to “one-stop” operations. The paperless customs clearance rate alone has increased from 86 last year. % has increased to more than 95% currently.
As the main body of market competition, the majority of foreign trade companies are not afraid of difficulties, seeking innovation and changes in the cracks to forge and enhance competitiveness.
Taiwan-funded enterprise Silicon Technology Co., Ltd. is the third largest chip packaging and testing company in the world. Since settling in Suzhou Industrial Park in 2000, it has made two rounds of investment, with a total investment of US$2.7 billion. General Manager Zhang Yifeng said that the third phase of the project, which is currently in progress, has invested US$3 billion and is working with Huawei to adopt the most advanced flip-chip testing technology in the world. This year’s operating income will reach US$2.34 billion.
“Our clothing business is transforming from inventory to fast fashion. Since the beginning of this year, exports have increased by about 20%.” Chen Xiaodong, general manager of Jiangsu Cathay International Group, said that this new model not only reduces costs, but also is more in line with market demand. Growth is expected to be even stronger in the second half of the year.