Multiple data show the momentum and vitality of foreign trade

The port logistics index in December 2022 was 84.49, up 2.31% month-on-month, and the port cargo throughput continued to grow in January 2023; The popularity of cross-border index of customized clothing, industrial laser machinery, new energy charging piles and other categories has not decreased. The export of a cross-border e-commerce platform will increase by 22%, 33% and 184% in 2022. These leading indicators and breakdown data show that China's foreign trade has sufficient growth momentum and strong development vitality.
——Port logistics index rebounded and foreign trade grew steadily and showed resilience
At the beginning of the new year, the fully automated container terminal of Qingdao Port, Shandong Port, was very busy. Many 10000 ton cargo ships such as "Paris Express" and "UAE Huashi" berthed for loading and unloading operations.
"Our terminal operation ushered in a 'good start'. The container throughput in the first 10 days of January increased by 25.6% year on year, and the berth utilization rate increased by 9.2% year on year," said Wang Jisheng, deputy manager of the fully automated terminal operation department of Qingdao Port.
Port logistics is the most intuitive "window" reflecting the vitality of foreign trade. The busy port shows the vitality of foreign trade development.
According to the "Port Logistics Index" monitored by the National Information Center and Fukuda Intelligence, the port logistics index in December was 84.49, up 2.31% month-on-month. According to the data of the Ministry of Transport, the cargo throughput of the port has gradually recovered. Since December, the cargo throughput has first declined and then increased, and then rebounded rapidly after hitting the bottom on December 25. On January 13, the monitoring port completed 30.73 million tons of cargo throughput, up 27.6% from the low point on December 25.
"These high-frequency indicators related to foreign trade rose on a month-on-month basis, indicating that China's trade grew steadily and showed strong resilience driven by domestic policies." Yang Daoling, director and researcher of the Big Data Analysis Division of the Big Data Development Department of the National Information Center, told the Economic Information Daily.
The report card of the whole year released recently fully shows the hard strength of China's foreign trade. On January 13, the data of the General Administration of Customs showed that in 2022, China's total import and export value exceeded 40 trillion yuan for the first time, reaching 42.07 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.7% year on year. On the basis of the high base in 2021, China continued to maintain stable growth, and its scale reached a new record high, maintaining its status as the world's first trading country of goods for six consecutive years.
"Despite the triple pressures of demand contraction, supply shock and weakening expectations, China's foreign trade imports and exports still show strong resilience." Lu Daliang, a spokesman for the General Administration of Customs, said that despite many difficulties and challenges, China's economy is expected to pick up this year as a whole, and there is solid support for promoting the stable scale and optimal structure of foreign trade.
——Multi-route freight rate index warms up and international market diversification steadily advances
Container freight index is also a leading indicator to observe the dynamics and vitality of foreign trade.
According to the latest data, some import routes have taken the lead in warming up. China's "import container freight index" published by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange shows that the import container freight index of Australia and New Zealand routes has maintained a rising trend in 2022. Although there was a brief decline in late November, it hit the bottom in mid-December and rebounded, reaching 2224.12 as of January 11, up about 8 percentage points from the lower point. On January 14, the freight index of imported containers on the Mediterranean route was 1665.50, up 6.2% from the previous period; The South American route closed at 2499.13, 1.7% higher than the previous period.
The "the Belt and Road" economic and trade cooperation also maintained a good momentum. According to the data of Ningbo Shipping Exchange, the maritime Silk Road trade index of countries along the "the Belt and Road" in November 2022 was 256.63, up 4.6% year on year and 5.6% month on month.
According to customs data, China's imports and exports to ASEAN, the European Union and the United States increased by 15%, 5.6% and 3.7% respectively in 2022. Over the same period, China's import and export to countries along the "the Belt and Road" increased by 19.4%, accounting for 32.9% of China's total foreign trade, an increase of 3.2 percentage points; Import and export to other members of RCEP increased by 7.5%.
"It is precisely because we have always adhered to the principle of 'flowering at multiple points'. The diversified international market has become the most powerful guarantee for the company's performance growth." The head of Doosan Construction Machinery (China) Co., Ltd. told the reporter that as a manufacturing enterprise that mainly produces hydraulic excavators, loaders and other construction machinery, the company has actively explored the diversified international market. At present, its products have been sold to many countries and regions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America and so on.
On January 9, the reporter saw at the production base of the company in Yantai Development Zone, Shandong Province, that hundreds of workers were working at full power to speed up the production of hydraulic excavators. The sound of metal impact, mechanical cutting, and running of the crane was endless, and the production workshop was busy. Before and after the Spring Festival, 100 hydraulic excavators produced by the company will be delivered offline in succession, and will be exported to the European market by boat after the customs clearance and supervision procedures are completed at Yantai Customs.
Pang Chaoran, an associate researcher of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, told the Economic Information Daily that China's foreign trade enterprises have actively developed diversified international markets, and the recognition of Chinese goods has increased in more countries. At the same time, the export destination and import sources can be flexibly converted in multiple markets, and the overall development toughness of China's foreign trade has been greatly enhanced.
——Cross-border e-commerce remains hot and new growth points gather new momentum for development
Looking at the foreign trade transcripts in recent years, the rapid growth of cross-border e-commerce has become a highlight. On the basis of nearly tenfold growth in five years, it maintained a rapid growth in 2022. According to the preliminary estimate of the customs, China's cross-border e-commerce import and export will be 2.11 trillion yuan in 2022, up 9.8%.
"In recent years, cross-border e-commerce has developed rapidly, and the country has successively issued relevant supporting policies. The advantages and potential of cross-border e-commerce are expected to be further released," said Lu Daliang.
From the statistical data of the cross-border e-commerce platform, we can more intuitively feel the positive momentum of the development of this new business form of foreign trade. At Alibaba International Station, the buyer sends an inquiry to the seller called "business opportunity". "Since July 2022, the platform has found that the overall overseas high-quality business opportunities have increased by 31%, which also reflects that the confidence of the market side in China's foreign trade is warming." The head of Alibaba International Station told the reporter of Economic Information Daily.
Recently, Alibaba International Station released the January 2023 cross-border index, which showed that China's flexible customized clothing was hot, especially the export of cold-proof clothing increased by 29% year-on-year. In addition, the growth rate of high-quality business opportunities in the new energy industry on the platform reached 92%. From the perspective of transactions, in 2022, the number of global buyers of customized clothing increased by 48% year-on-year, and the number of transactions increased by 22%. The global popular search index of new energy charging piles has risen year by year since 2017, and has shown explosive growth since 2020. In 2022, the number of global buyers of new energy charging piles has increased by 2.5 times over the same period of last year, and the number of transactions has increased by 184%. Industrial laser machinery is also hot with new energy. In 2022, the number of global buyers of industrial laser machinery on the platform increased by 51.1% year on year, and the number of transactions increased by 33%.
Each new growth point converges into a new driving force for China's foreign trade growth. According to customs statistics, China's exports of solar cells and lithium batteries will increase by 67.8% and 86.7% respectively in 2022. According to the data released by the China Automobile Industry Association, 679000 new energy vehicles will be exported in 2022, up 1.2 times year on year.
Pang Chaoran pointed out that based on the development foundation of China's manufacturing industry with complete categories and supporting facilities, China's product competitiveness has been continuously enhanced, and it can more flexibly serve various needs of the external market. More and more overseas markets highly recognize "Made in China". The continuous evolution and development of new products, new models and new features will not only help to continue to stabilize, consolidate and improve China's export market share, but also provide new growth points for China's industry to expand international market space and better serve the high-quality development of China's economy.
(Reporter Li Jiapeng, Sun Shaohua, Wang Wenbo, Wang Zhi)