The Canton Fair is known as the "barometer of foreign trade". Through this window, one can observe new trends in my country's foreign trade development. Since the beginning of this year, in the face of a complex external environment and many uncertain factors, my country’s foreign trade has continued to maintain a steady and progressive development momentum, and its endogenous motivation has continued to increase. Looking at the total volume, the total value of imports and exports has grown steadily. In the first 4 months, the total value of my country's imports and exports of goods trade reached 9.51 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.3% over the same period last year. Among them, exports were 5.06 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.7%; imports were 4.45 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.9%.
Looking at the structure, the high-quality development will rise to a higher level. In the first 4 months, the structure of import and export commodities was further optimized, and high value-added export commodities continued to increase. Among them, the export of mechanical and electrical products was 2.97 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.5%, accounting for 58.6% of the total export value. The import and export of private enterprises was 3.9 trillion yuan, an increase of 11%, accounting for 41% of the total foreign trade value, an increase of 2.5 percentage points over the same period last year.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that it is necessary to accelerate the transition from a major trading country to a powerful trading country, consolidate the traditional advantages of foreign trade, cultivate new competitive advantages, expand the space for foreign trade development, and actively expand imports. According to data released by the World Trade Organization, my country's share of global exports and imports in 2018 was 12.8% and 10.8%, respectively, becoming a "stabilizer" for global trade operations. Although the current situation of foreign trade development is still severe, my country's development is still in a period of important strategic opportunities, and the stable development of foreign trade has many favorable factors. We have the confidence to maintain the steady growth of foreign trade!
Confidence comes from continuously improving quality and efficiency. At present, my country's foreign trade imports and exports are more balanced, regional development is more coordinated, and product structure is more optimized. The export of high value-added electromechanical products and equipment manufacturing products maintains a good growth momentum, and the international market competitiveness is enhanced. In the first 4 months, my country's exports of electrical and electronic products were 1.33 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.9%; machinery and equipment exports were 890.56 billion yuan, an increase of 3.9%.
The confidence comes from the continuously optimized business environment. Since last year, my country has successively introduced a series of policies and measures to reduce taxes and fees and optimize the business environment at ports, and the level of trade facilitation has increased significantly. In 2018, the World Bank raised the ranking of China's business environment by 32 places. Among them, the ranking of cross-border trade jumped from 97 to 65, which also increased by 32 places. my country has taken the initiative to lower import tariffs on commodities such as medicines, automobiles and their parts and components, and daily consumer goods, which has effectively promoted the growth of imports.
The confidence also comes from more diversified trading partners. While maintaining good growth in trade volume with traditional trading partners, Chinese foreign trade companies are actively expanding economic and trade exchanges with other countries and regions. In the first 4 months, my country’s imports and exports to major markets such as the EU, ASEAN, and Japan all achieved growth; the total imports and exports to countries along the “Belt and Road” reached 2.73 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.1%, which was 4.8 percentage points higher than the overall national growth rate, accounting for 28.7% of the total value of my country's foreign trade, the proportion increased by 1.3 percentage points. "Explore new markets, create new demands, and maintain stable growth of foreign trade. There is more room for it," said Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce.
"The'stability' of the domestic economy is an important support for the'stability' of foreign trade." Li Kuiwen, a spokesperson for the General Administration of Customs, said that my country's opening door is opening wider and wider, and the effects of stabilizing foreign trade policies continue to appear, which will effectively promote the transformation and upgrading of foreign trade. Corporate vitality. This year, my country will further improve the level of trade facilitation, continue to optimize the business environment at ports, and help foreign trade companies go into battle with light equipment, and promote stable and steady progress in foreign trade.