On May 24, the Comprehensive Department and Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce jointly released the Report on China’s Foreign Trade Situation (Spring 2019)(hereinafter referred to as Report). The Report reviews China's foreign trade situation in 2018 and in the first quarter of 2019, and analyzes the development environment of China's foreign trade in 2019. In 2018, China's foreign trade have made progress while ensuring stability. The volume of import and export of trade in goods reached a record high, the quality and efficiency were further improved and the contribution to the national economy was further enhanced. The status as the largest country of trade in goods and the second largest country of trade in services has been consolidated, and the process of becoming a trade power has been accelerated. In the first quarter of 2019, China's foreign trade was generally stable and its structure continued to be optimized.

The report believes that the current environment for foreign trade development is more complex, more uncertain, and more risky and challenging. World economic growth has slowed down and trade protectionism has continued to heat up. The downward pressure on the domestic economy still exists, and some structural problems need to be resolved. More efforts are needed to achieve the development goals of stabilizing foreign trade and improving its quality. At the same time, we must also see that the economic fundamentals will remain sound in the long term, the endogenous power of foreign trade has been continuously strengthened, and the foundation for high-quality development has continued to be consolidated. As more measures are implemented to stabilize foreign trade, improve quality, and transform driving force, the effects of the policies will continue to come out.

The report pointed out that the Ministry of Commerce will follow the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, implement the foreign trade policy, implement the trade power action plan, and continuously advance the "five optimizations," "three constructions" and the diversification of the export market. We will guide the transformation and upgrading of processing trade, transfer to the central and western regions, optimize import structure, actively expand imports, hold the second China International Import Expo, stabilize foreign trade and improve its quality to welcome the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China with outstanding achievements. We will make new contributions to building a moderately prosperous society and achieving the Two Centenary Goals.


Click here to view more: China’s Foreign Trade Situation (Spring 2019) (Chinese Version)