2018年CRI China's goods trade surplus shrinks in Q1: customs data

 

The latest customs data show that China's trade surplus shrunk, while imports grew faster than exports, in the first quarter of the year, demonstrating that China is seeing a better balance of trade.

China's goods imports grew 11.7 percent in the first three months of the year, while exports rose 7.4 percent year on year.

That resulted in a trade surplus of 326.18 billion yuan, or about 51.85 billion U.S. dollars, shrinking 21.8 percent.

The total foreign trade volume reached 6.75 trillion yuan in the first quarter, expanding 9.4 percent from that of the same period last year.

Huang Songping, a spokesperson with the General Administration of Customs, said the fast trade growth resulted from a mild global economic recovery, as well as the sound development of the domestic economy.

He added that the first-quarter growth was also supported by steady progress of the Belt and Road Initiative and stronger trading with emerging markets.

"In the first quarter, China's trade volume with countries along the Belt and Road routes grew by 12.9 percent, 3.5 percentage points faster than the overall increase. China's import and export with the emerging markets in Latin America and Africa increased by 14 and 12.4 percent respectively," said Huang.

The top three trading partners of China were the European Union, the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Trade between China and the U.S. rose 13 percent in dollar-denominated terms, with Chinese exports to the U.S. increasing 14.8 percent, and their trade surplus in the first three months stood at 58.25 billion dollars.

"We should have an objective and reasonable view of the trade imbalance between China and the U.S. We never pursue trade surpluses. The current trade status has been determined¹ by the market and in the end by the economic structures, industrial competitiveness and the international division of labor². If we take into account factors such as the way of calculation, transit³ trade and service trade, the real trade surplus is not as big as it may look," said Huang.

In terms of China's foreign trade in the second quarter, the spokesperson said he's optimistic about the result despite various uncertainties⁴.

"Pressure and challenges for the global economy and international trade in the second quarter will continue to rise. However, just as what President Xi Jinping stressed in his keynote speech at the Boao Forum⁵ for Asia annual conference, economic globalization has become an irreversible historical trend, and China will take major measures to expand opening up. In general, I expect China's foreign trade to maintain an upward trend in the second quarter," said Huang.

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

4 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

5 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。