Shenzhen foreign trade grows for 9 consecutive months

Shenzhen saw foreign trade grow 16.4 percent year on year to 1.87 trillion yuan (US$288.49 billion) between January and July, Shenzhen Customs said Thursday.

Foreign trade in July saw growth for the 9th consecutive month since November last year, reaching 281.4 billion yuan and an increase of 2.3 percent year on year.

Between January and July, exports reached 1.01 trillion yuan, up by 14.4 percent, while imports were 867.4 billion yuan, up by 18.8 percent.

The volume of general trade reached 951.2 billion yuan, an increase of 15.4 percent between January and July, which took up 50.7 percent of the city’s total trade.

The city’s trade with its top 10 partners all increased.

The trade with India, Australia and China’s Hong Kong reached 369.4 billion yuan, 24.7 billion yuan and 22.4 billion yuan, up by 21.4 percent, 21.8 percent and 40.2 percent, respectively.

At the same time, trade with ASEAN, the EU and Japan also increased. Trade with RCEP (the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) countries reached 496.2 billion yuan, up by 12.9 percent. Trade with countries along the Belt and Road increased by 16.1 percent to 413.1 billion yuan.

In terms of exports, mechanical and electrical products took up 80 percent of the total, while mobile phones and household appliances increased by 17 and 19.1 percent, respectively. Computer exports increased by 62.5 percent, while panel computer exports increased by 169.5 percent.

In terms of imports, mechanical and electrical product reached 687.7 billion yuan and took up 79.3 percent of the total, while electronic components, LCD panels, audiovisual equipment and spare parts imports increased quickly. Agricultural produce imports slowed down between January and July, with about 7.1 percent increase year on year.

China’s foreign trade hit record highs in the first seven months of 2021, while their year-on-year growth rates set 10-year highs compared with the same period in previous years, according to statistics of the Ministry of Commerce.

The country’s total imports and exports expanded 24.5 percent year on year to 21.34 trillion yuan from January to July. Exports rose 24.5 percent from last year, while imports jumped 24.4 percent in the first seven months, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.