According to customs statistics, in January 2015, my country’s total import and export value was 2.09 trillion yuan1, a decrease of 10.8% compared with the same period last year (the same below). Among them, exports were 1.23 trillion yuan, a decrease of 3.2%; imports were 0.86 trillion yuan, a decrease of 19.7%; the trade surplus was 366.9 billion yuan, an increase of 87.5% (below).
In January 2015, my country’s foreign trade import and export mainly showed the following characteristics:
1. The decline in import and export narrowed after seasonal adjustment. Considering that the Spring Festival factors had a greater impact on imports and exports at the beginning of the year year-on-year, after seasonal adjustment, the declines in imports and exports, exports and imports in January were 7.1%, 1.3% and 14.4% respectively.
2. General trade exports are stable and imports have fallen sharply. Processing trade exports are weak and imports are relatively stable. In January, my country’s general trade import and export reached 1,189.3 billion yuan, down 11.9%, accounting for 57% of China’s total foreign trade value, down 0.7 percentage points from the same period last year. Among them, exports were 686.8 billion yuan, down 0.9%, accounting for 56% of the total export value; imports were 502.5 billion yuan, down 23.4%, accounting for 58.5% of the total import value; the surplus under general trade was 184.3 billion yuan, expanding four times.
During the same period, my country’s processing trade import and export volume was 625.7 billion yuan, a decrease of 10.3%, accounting for 30% of China’s total foreign trade value, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the same period last year. Among them, exports were 404.1 billion yuan, down 11.7%, accounting for 32.9% of the total export value; imports were 221.6 billion yuan, down 7.5%, accounting for 25.8% of the total import value; the surplus under processing trade was 182.5 billion yuan, narrowing by 16.3%.
In addition, my country’s import and export volume under special customs supervision was 197.77 billion yuan, a decrease of 13.1%, accounting for 9.5% of China’s total foreign trade value. Among them, exports were 76.66 billion yuan, an increase of 7.8%, accounting for 6.3% of the total export value; imports were 121.11 billion yuan, a decrease of 22.6%, accounting for 14.1% of the total import value.
3. Exports to the United States and ASEAN increased, while exports to the European Union and Japan declined; imports both declined. In January, the EU was my country’s largest trading partner. The total bilateral trade value between China and the EU was 323.01 billion yuan, a decrease of 5.3%, accounting for 15.5% of China’s total foreign trade value. Among them, China’s exports to the EU were 207.13 billion yuan, a decrease of 4.4%; China’s imports from the EU were 115.88 billion yuan, a decrease of 6.9%; the trade surplus with Europe was 91.25 billion yuan, narrowing by 1%. The United States is my country’s second largest trading partner. The total bilateral trade value between China and the United States was 300.47 billion yuan, an increase of 0.5%, accounting for 14.4% of China’s total foreign trade value. Among them, China’s exports to the United States were 216.16 billion yuan, an increase of 4.9%; China’s imports from the United States were 84.31 billion yuan, a decrease of 9.3%; the trade surplus with the United States was 131.85 billion yuan, an increase of 16.6%.
In January, ASEAN was my country’s third largest trading partner. The total bilateral trade value with ASEAN was 257.14 billion yuan, a decrease of 0.6%, accounting for 12.3% of China’s total foreign trade value. Among them, China’s exports to ASEAN were 167.99 billion yuan, an increase of 15.6%; China’s imports from ASEAN were 89.15 billion yuan, a decrease of 21.4%; the trade surplus with ASEAN was 78.84 billion yuan, an increase of 1.5 times. Japan is my country’s fifth largest trading partner. The total bilateral trade value between China and Japan was 140.53 billion yuan, a decrease of 17.3%, accounting for 6.7% of China’s total foreign trade value. Among them, exports to Japan were 73.27 billion yuan, down 20.4%; imports from Japan were 67.26 billion yuan, down 13.6%; the trade surplus with Japan was 6.01 billion yuan, narrowing by 57.7%.
In January, the total value of bilateral trade between the Mainland and Hong Kong was 147.97 billion yuan, a decrease of 11.2%, accounting for 7.1% of the total value of mainland foreign trade. Among them, exports to Hong Kong were 143.12 billion yuan, down 10.9%; imports from Hong Kong were 4.85 billion yuan, down 18.8%; the trade surplus with Hong Kong was 138.27 billion yuan, narrowing by 10.6% (Table 1).
Table 1: China’s total import and export value with major trading partners in January 2015
4. The import and export of private enterprises decreased slightly. In January, the import and export volume of foreign-invested enterprises was 948.9 billion yuan, a decrease of 7.6%, accounting for 45.5% of China’s total foreign trade value. Among them, exports were 523.6 billion yuan, down 6.8%, accounting for 42.7% of the total export value; imports were 425.3 billion yuan, down 8.5%, accounting for 49.5% of the total import value. During the same period, the import and export of private enterprises was 767.9 billion yuan, a decrease of 5.4%, which was 5.4 percentage points lower than the overall decrease, accounting for 36.8% of China’s total foreign trade value. Among them, exports were 562.7 billion yuan, an increase of 1.4%, accounting for 45.9% of the total export value; imports were 205.2 billion yuan, a decrease of 20%, accounting for 23.9% of the total import value.
In addition, the import and export of state-owned enterprises was 368.8 billion yuan, a decrease of 17.9%, accounting for 17.7% of our total foreign trade value. Among them, exports were 139.9 billion yuan, down 6.2%, accounting for 11.4% of the total export value; imports were 228.9 billion yuan, down 23.8%, accounting for 26.6% of the total import value.
5. Exports of mechanical and electrical products and traditional labor-intensive products have declined. In January, my country’s exports of mechanical and electrical products were 681.05 billion yuan, down 1.3%, accounting for 55.5% of the total export value. Among them, the export of electrical appliances and electronic products was 284.69 billion yuan, an increase of 3.3%; the export of machinery and equipment was 193.54 billion yuan, a decrease of 10.1%. During the same period, clothing exports were 96.86 billion yuan, a decrease of 12.4%; textiles were 59.48 billion yuan, a decrease of 7.6%; footwear was 34.88 billion yuan, a decrease of 10.8%; furniture was 34.84 billion yuan, an increase of 0.7%; plastic products were 21.46 billion yuan, a decrease of 5.6%; Luggage and bags were 15.79 billion yuan, a decrease of 10.2%; toys were 6.77 billion yuan, an increase of 9.6%; the total exports of the above seven categories of labor-intensive products were 270.08 billion yuan, a decrease of 8.4%, accounting for 22% of the total export value. In addition, fertilizer exports were 2.76 million tons, an increase of 1.1 times; steel products were 10.288 million tons, an increase of 52.1%; and 72,000 cars were exported, a decrease of 17.3% (Table 2).
Table 2 Statistics of my country’s main export commodities in January 2015
�The import volume of major commodities such as iron ore, coal, crude oil, and refined oil products decreased, while the import volume of soybeans increased, and the prices of major imported commodities generally fell. In January, China imported 78.57 million tons of iron ore, a decrease of 9.4%, and the average import price was 438.6 yuan per ton, a decrease of 45.1%; crude oil was 27.98 million tons, a decrease of 0.6%, and the average import price was 2,856 yuan per ton, a decrease of 41.4%. ; Coal was 16.78 million tons, a decrease of 53.2%, and the average import price was 415.3 yuan per ton, a decrease of 18.4%; refined oil was 2.347 million tons, a decrease of 37.6%, and the average import price was 3,207 yuan per ton, a decrease of 34.6%; primary-shaped plastics 2.219 million tons, a decrease of 13.7%, the average import price was 11,100 yuan per ton, a decrease of 7.8%; 1.155 million tons of steel, a decrease of 14.7%, the average import price was 7,480 yuan per ton, a decrease of 1.4%; unwrought and rolled copper and copper Materials were 415,000 tons, a decrease of 22.7%, and the average import price was 41,200 yuan per ton, a decrease of 10.9%; unwrought aluminum and aluminum materials were 56,000 tons, a decrease of 49.4%, and the average import price was 31,700 yuan per ton, an increase of 47.4% %.
In addition, 10.077 million tons of grain were imported, an increase of 16.4%; of which soybeans were 6.876 million tons, an increase of 16.2%. The average import price was 2,969 yuan per ton, a decrease of 14.5%. Imports of mechanical and electrical products were 397.19 billion yuan, a decrease of 3.7%; of which 100,000 cars were imported, a decrease of 9.5% (Table 3).
Table 3 Statistics of my country’s main imported commodities in January 2015
7. The foreign trade export leading index fell for the fourth consecutive month. In January, China’s foreign trade export leading index was 38.6, down 1.5 from December last year and declining for the fourth consecutive month, indicating that my country’s exports are still facing downward pressure in the first quarter and early second quarter of this year. Among them, according to online questionnaire survey data, my country’s export managers index was 41.2 that month, an increase of 0.4 from December; the new export orders index and the comprehensive cost index of export enterprises increased by 0.9 and 0.7 to 44 and 26 respectively from December. The manager confidence index fell 0.5 to 44.7.
