China's Exports and Imports Increase, While Trade Surplus Shrinks

China recorded a nearly 25% increase in exports and imports during the first nine months of this year, while the trade surplus shrunk due to sluggish¹ global demand and rising costs in domestic markets.

Shuangfeng has the story.

 
The first three quarters saw a 24.6-percent year-on-year increase in China's exports and imports, amounting to some 2.7 trillion U.S. dollars.

Despite the growth, the trade surplus shrunk by 10.6 percent during this period.

In September alone, China's trade surplus narrowed for a second straight month to 14.5 billion U.S. dollars, less than half of the 31 billion recorded in July.

The data shows that China's policies to boost imports have taken effect, as foreign trade is becoming more balanced.

Lu Peijun is deputy head of the General Administration of Customs.

"China's foreign trade structure continues to improve, with general trade expanding and processing trade dwindling². China's dependence³ on traditional markets, including the European Union, the United States and Japan, has been somewhat alleviated⁴, as trade with emerging countries has grown quickly."

From January to September, exports to the EU, the U.S. and Japan accounted for 43.7 percent of the country's total, two percentage points lower compared to a year ago.

Meanwhile, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has surpassed Japan to become China's third-largest trading partner.

Bilateral⁵ trade between the two sides reached 270 billion U.S. dollars, up 26 percent.

China's foreign trade is expected to reach 3.5 trillion U.S. dollars this year, 19 percent up from last year.

However, Lu warns that there are still many uncertainties⁶ in the future development of China's foreign trade.

"The situation in the global market is more complex as world economy growth may slow down, and protectionism is increasing in developed economies. The RMB exchange rate also fluctuates a lot, which will restrain China's exports. Meanwhile, small and medium-sized enterprises will face more difficulties."

Despite all the challenges, Lu says China will not lose its core competitiveness in manufacturing in the short term.

He says China will remain the largest exporter and the second largest importer in the world.

For CRI, this is Shuangfeng.

1 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

2 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

3 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

4 alleviated   

减轻，缓解，缓和( alleviate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It is always completely alleviated by total gastrectomy. 全胃切除永远完全缓解症状。
• Toxicity problem in manufacturing and storage might be alleviated by coating beryllium with aluminum. 但如果用铝包覆铍，则可避免加工过程中及储存期间的中毒问题。

5 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

6 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