China's Exports Up 14.1% YoY, Imports Up 25.3% YoY in April, Both Far Exceeding Expectations

Under geopolitical pressures, China's foreign trade data has submitted a report that exceeds expectations.

On May 9th, data released by the General Administration of Customs showed that China's exports in April, valued in US dollars, grew by 14.1% year-on-year, significantly surpassing the market estimate of 8.4% and accelerating from the previous value of 2.5%; imports grew by 25.3% year-on-year, also exceeding the estimated 20%; the trade surplus was $84.82 billion, slightly higher than the estimated $83.65 billion.

When measured in RMB, exports in April grew by 9.8% year-on-year, turning from negative to positive, compared to the previous value of -0.7%; imports grew by 20.6%; the trade surplus was 354.75 billion yuan.

Acceleration across the first four months

Looking at the cumulative data, from January to April, exports valued in US dollars grew by 14.5% year-on-year, and imports grew by 23.6% year-on-year, resulting in a trade surplus of $347.7 billion.

Measured in RMB, the total value of imports and exports was 16.23 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%, with exports at 9.33 trillion yuan, up by 11.3%, and imports at 6.9 trillion yuan, up by 20%.

Trade partners: Decline with the US, steady growth with ASEAN and the EU

The structural changes in the trade pattern are clearly visible from the partner perspective.

In the first four months, the total trade value between China and ASEAN was 2.75 trillion yuan, increasing by 15.7%; the trade value with the EU was 2.01 trillion yuan, increasing by 13.2%; trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative was 8.28 trillion yuan, growing by 13.5%.

Meanwhile, the total trade value between China and the US was 1.25 trillion yuan, down 12.9% year-on-year, marking the only direction among main trade partners where negative growth occurred, with China-US trade frictions continuously suppressing bilateral flows.

Commodity structure: Green products and robots lead exports

When looking at the structure of exported goods, mechanical and electrical products remain the absolute mainstay, with exports of 5.92 trillion yuan in the first four months, an increase of 17.6%, accounting for 63.5% of total exports.

Green and low-carbon categories performed particularly well: exports of electric vehicles increased by 68.1%, lithium batteries increased by 43.2%, wind turbine generators increased by 40.7%, and exports of industrial robots also increased by 30%. High value-added and high-tech products are becoming the core driving force for the upgrade of China's export structure.

Exports of labor-intensive products decreased by 2.6%, with the relative retreat of low-end manufacturing and acceleration of high-end manufacturing happening concurrently.

On the import side, mechanical and electrical product imports amounted to 2.76 trillion yuan, an increase of 23.6%; agricultural product imports were 47.573 billion yuan, up by 10.3%; crude oil imports amounted to 185 million tons, moderately increasing by 1.3%.

Trade modes: Bonded logistics growth leads

Looking at the trade modes, in the first four months, general trade imports and exports were 9.82 trillion yuan, increasing by 8.5%; processing trade was 3.08 trillion yuan, increasing by 21.3%; bonded logistics imports and exports were 2.81 trillion yuan, with a growth rate as high as 38.7%, leading the growth rates of all trade modes, reflecting the continuous expansion of cross-border e-commerce and intermediate goods trade.

Foreign trade entities: Private enterprises take the lead

When looking at the foreign trade entities, private enterprise imports and exports were 9.31 trillion yuan, with a growth of 15.9%, the fastest among the three types of entities, further consolidating its position as the "first main force" in foreign trade; foreign-invested enterprises grew by 15.4%; state-owned enterprises grew by 9.