ZCZC
BCN-36
CHINA-FOREIGN-TRADE
China’s foreign trade up 9.1 pct in first eight months
BEIJING, Sept. 9, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – China’s goods trade went up 9.1
percent year on year to 19.43 trillion yuan (about 2.85 trillion U.S.
dollars) in the first eight months of this year, customs data showed
Saturday.
Exports rose 5.4 percent year on year in the January-August period to
10.34 trillion yuan while imports grew 13.7 percent to 9.09 trillion yuan,
resulting in a trade surplus of 1.25 trillion yuan, which narrowed by 31.3
percent, according to the General Administration of Customs.
In August, exports rose by 7.9 percent while imports jumped by 18.8
percent.
In the first eight months, exports and imports of products under the
general trade category, which are differentiated from processing trade,
gained 13.1 percent from a year ago to 11.43 trillion yuan, accounting for
58.8 percent of the total foreign trade, 2.1 percentage points higher than
the same period in 2017.
The country’s trade with major trading partners saw an increase during the
January-August period. Trade with the European Union, its largest trading
partner, climbed 6.2 percent, and trade volume with the United States and
ASEAN countries increased by 5.9 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively.
Trade with countries along the Belt and Road totaled 5.31 trillion yuan,
up 12 percent year on year, 2.9 percentage points faster than the average
growth rate, data showed.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1450