BEIJING: Despite the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday and the epidemic, China’s foreign trade increased significantly in January and February, thanks to strong external demand, a recovering domestic economy and a low base last year due to strict COVID-19 control measures, the country’s customs authority said on Sunday.
Foreign trade of goods surged by over 41 percent year on year in the first two months to $834.5 billion, with the trade balance at $103.25 billion, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC). Exports in the same period soared by 60.6 percent to $468.9 billion and imports rose by 22.2 percent to $365.6 billion, both beating forecasts in a Reuters poll of 22 economists, 38.9 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
For February alone, exports skyrocketed 154.9 percent from the previous year at $204.9 billion and the import saw a relatively smooth increase – 17.3 percent – at about $167 billion.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was still China’s largest trade partner in the first two months, with total trade volume increasing by 32.9 percent year on year to 786.2 billion yuan (about $121 billion), accounting for 14.4 percent of China’s total trade volume, followed by the European Union, the United States, and Japan, data from the GAC showed.
–The Daily Mail-CGTN News exchange item
