A cargo ship slowly docks at the berth of Lianyungang port in East China's Jiangsu Province on September 10, 2024. Photo: VCG

China's total merchandise trade hit 28.58 trillion yuan ($4.02 trillion) in the first eight months of this year, up 6 percent year-on-year, remaining on a steady growth trajectory, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Tuesday.

Exports totaled 16.45 trillion yuan, up 6.9 percent, while imports reached 12.13 trillion yuan, increasing by 4.7 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of 4.32 trillion yuan, expanding by 13.6 percent from one year earlier, the GAC data showed.

In August alone, China's total foreign trade stood at 3.75 trillion yuan, up 4.8 percent year-on-year. Exports reached 2.20 trillion yuan, up 8.4 percent, while imports were unchanged at 1.55 trillion yuan.

In US dollar terms, China's exports in August rose by 8.7 percent, beating broad market expectations. Imports grew by 0.5 percent.

The figure of 8.7 percent for the August export increase rate was higher than expected, surpassing current global economic trends and China's expected domestic GDP growth rate of 5 percent.

Despite having to deal with increasingly complex and challenging global conditions in recent years, China's foreign trade enterprises have displayed strong competitiveness, Zhou Maohua, an economist at China Everbright Bank, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The main factor supporting China's foreign trade is the ongoing expansion of global demand. China's trade structure continues to optimize, with strong performances in emerging markets such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries, and Latin America, Zhou said.

In the first eight months, ASEAN remained China's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting 4.5 trillion yuan, up 10 percent year-on-year. 

The EU was China's second-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade totaling 3.72 trillion yuan, up 1.1 percent year-on-year. The US ranked as the third-largest trade partner, with total trade coming in at 3.15 trillion yuan, up 4.4 percent. 

Imports have remained steady, but the high base has weighed down the year-on-year growth rate, Yang Chang, chief analyst at Zhongtai Securities Research Institute, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"Overall, the robust performance of China's exports will continue to buoy economic growth in the second half of 2024, offering strong support for meeting this year's economic growth targets," Zhou said.

Global Times