China France Photo:VCG

China's exports to France recorded a historical high in the first quarter of 2023 to reach 131.96 billion yuan ($19.3 billion), up 2.9 percent year-on-year as the nation aims to further expand cooperation with France and the EU following the recent China-France-EU trilateral talks in Beijing.

China exported a total of 68.12 billion yuan worth of products, of which nearly 60 percent are mechanical and electronic products. The exports of electronic products surged 37.7 percent, according to official data.  

As for imports, a total of 63.84 billion yuan worth of goods were imported from France in the first three months, up 16.4 percent compared with the corresponding period last previous, with the import of aircraft surging 183.1 percent. 

France is China's third largest trading country in the EU, accounting for 10 percent of the China-EU trade volume, Lü Daliang, a customs spokesperson said at a press conference on Thursday, adding that France remains China's top source for cosmetics and wine imports, and the second largest supplier for bags.

In terms of trading with the EU, the bloc remains China's second largest trading partner with total trade volume increasing 2 percent year-on-year to reach 1.34 trillion yuan, accounting 13.5 percent of China's total trading scale, official data showed.

Exports to EU reached 866.67 billion yuan, up 0.3 percent year-on-year. The imports from EU grew 5.2 percent to reach 470.87 billion yuan, with the growth rate for medical and agricultural products exceeding 20 percent.

Lü said that the GAC will implement the important consensus from the trilateral talks while expanding the cooperation areas between China with EU, and between China and France, and promoting the high-quality development of their economic and trade cooperation. 

Global Times