Quarterly textile and apparel general trade exports declined

Since 2011, China’s textile and apparel general trade exports have maintained stable and rapid growth, with the three-year average growth rate being more than 10 percentage points faster than that of processing trade. However, in the first quarter of this year, the total exports of general trade were US$43.57 billion, a decrease of 0.5%, which was the first decline in exports in the first quarter in the past three years. Processing trade increased by 1.1%, and border small-scale trade increased by 13.1%. The decline in general trade exports indicates that my country’s ability to develop independent textile and apparel exports has weakened, sending a signal of slowdown in textile and apparel exports.