Electric vehicles, lithium batteries, solar cells "New three things" lead foreign trade exports

In the first quarter, the total exports of electric manned vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells increased by 66.9%——

The "new three things" lead foreign trade exports

Reporter Xu Peiyu

In the first quarter of this year, China's foreign trade exports improved month by month, achieving a good start. Among them, electric manned vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells, known as the "new three things" of foreign trade, performed brilliantly, with a total export increase of 66.9% in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of more than 1000 billion yuan, and the overall growth rate of exports was increased by 2 percentage points.

Clothing, furniture, and home appliances are often called the "old three" of foreign trade. Nowadays, while the "old three things" are steadily fighting, the "new three things" have sprung up and become a vivid footnote for the quality and upgrading of China's foreign trade.

The "new three things" have become new drivers of growth

Recently, SAIC's largest ro-ro vehicle "Anji Phoenix" carried the first batch of 20,<> MG brand new vehicles from the exclusive Ro-Ro terminal in Ningde Port in Fujian Province to the Port of Cardenas in Lhasalo, Mexico. This series of models is sold in nearly <> countries and regions such as Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Thailand, and Chile.

Since the beginning of this year, the number of overseas orders of many car companies has increased significantly. Zhang Cailiang, sales manager of Beijing Automobile Manufacturing Plant (Qingdao) Import & Export Co., Ltd., said: "We have just received an order for 1000,24 new energy vehicles in Turkey, and now the plant is running at full capacity. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (hereinafter referred to as "CAAM"), in the first quarter of this year, China's exports of new energy vehicles reached 8,1 units, a year-on-year increase of 1.4 times. Among them, BYD exported a total of 3,12 units, a year-on-year increase of 8.51 times, and BYD's new energy passenger vehicle footprint has spread to <> countries and regions around the world.

Among the "new three things", the growth rate of new energy vehicle exports is leading. In the first quarter, the export of electric manned vehicles was 647.5 billion yuan, an increase of 122.3%, accounting for 5.1 percentage points of China's automobile exports to 43.9%.

Lithium battery exports are also hot. A batch of lithium batteries from a battery company in Taizhou, Jiangsu Province is about to be sent to South Africa. The person in charge of the enterprise said: "This year, the demand for household energy storage by overseas customers has further increased, and we have added a new lithium battery production line. Guangdong Oakley Group Co., Ltd. is a collection of R & D, production, sales as one of the lithium iron phosphate battery and lead-acid battery manufacturing enterprises, the relevant person in charge of the company said that since this year, the external market demand has increased significantly.

Driven by multiple factors such as strong demand for electric vehicles and energy storage markets abroad, China's lithium battery exports in the first quarter were 1097.9 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 94.3%.

Solar cells have become a new business card for China's foreign trade exports. At the 133rd Canton Fair being held, all solar cell companies have gained a lot and welcomed a batch of buyers from Europe, North America and other places. In the first quarter, China's solar cell exports exceeded 900 billion yuan, an increase of 23.6%

The bright performance of the "new three" did not start this year. In the first quarter of last year, China's exports of solar cells, lithium batteries and automobiles achieved high growth, with growth rates of 100.8%, 53.7% and 83.4% respectively. The export of the "new three things" led the entire foreign trade in 2022, with electric vehicle exports increasing by 131.8%, photovoltaic products dominated by solar cells increasing by 67.8%, and lithium batteries increasing by 86.7%.

"As a new driving force for growth, the 'New Three' products reflect the effective improvement of China's export quality and reasonable growth in quantity, and also make China's positive contribution to the global green and low-carbon transformation." Lu Daliang, spokesman of the General Administration of Customs and director of the Department of Statistical Analysis, said.

Sold to more than 200 countries and regions

Who is buying the "new three"? Customs data show that in the first quarter of this year, China's "new three samples" have export records to more than 200 countries and regions around the world, of which exports to the top five markets of the European Union, the United States, ASEAN, South Korea and the United Kingdom increased by 88.7%, 88.1%, 103.5%, 121.7% and 118.2% respectively, accounting for 71.6% of the total export value of the "new three samples".

Why are the "new three things" popular all over the world?

Gao Shiwang, spokesperson of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Mechanical and Electronic Products, analyzed that the "new three things" are all mechanical and electrical products, and the high growth rate of exports is mainly based on three reasons: market opportunities brought by industrial changes, China's complete industrial chain and supply capacity, and the promotion role of relevant policies.

With the continuous improvement of global environmental awareness and emphasis on sustainable development, the new energy industry has gradually become a global hot spot. In recent years, the Chinese government has vigorously promoted the development of the new energy industry, and products such as new energy vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells have gradually emerged in the domestic and foreign markets. At the same time, China's policy of continuous opening up has also laid the foundation for the rapid growth of the "new three things" exports. At the 133rd Canton Fair, Frederick, a buyer from Sweden, said: "Sweden and other Nordic countries have a huge demand for solar products, because they value Chinese products and Chinese technology, and we want to do business with China." ”

Behind the boom in exports of the "new three things" is the continuous improvement of the comprehensive strength of China's related industries. Chinese consumers are increasingly accepting new energy vehicles, and the growing demand for new energy vehicles in China is attracting more and more companies to this field. Under the fierce market competition and high R&D investment, the key technologies of electric manned vehicles continue to progress and make breakthroughs, and the cost continues to be reduced and more competitive. At the same time, China has a complete industrial chain and supply chain system, which can meet the various raw materials and parts required for the production of the "new three types", and promote the rapid scale and level of these three types of industries. In the first quarter, private enterprises, foreign-invested enterprises, state-owned enterprises and other business entities achieved rapid growth in the export of the "new three things", of which private enterprises accounted for 65.4% of the total export value of the "new three things", higher than the proportion of private enterprises in the total exports.

In recent years, in order to better expand overseas markets, relevant Chinese enterprises have laid out industrial chains overseas, further driving the export of related industries. Taking new energy vehicles as an example, SAIC Motor has built a full value chain of the automotive industry overseas, including innovation R&D centers, production bases, marketing centers, supply chain centers and financial companies, and its products and services have entered more than 90 countries and regions around the world. After BYD's first overseas passenger car production base is put into operation in Thailand, the Thai market will no longer have to go through lengthy export shipping and customs clearance procedures from order placement to delivery, and the delivery efficiency will be greatly improved. According to the analysis of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, building factories at sea can also effectively reduce the cost of transportation and avoid the impact of exchange rates.

"The demand for the 'new three things' in the international market is growing, and China can provide competitive and high-quality products, while China has maintained its position as the largest country in goods trade for six consecutive years, is one of the world's largest producers and exporters, and naturally becomes a major supplier to many countries." Hong Yong, associate researcher at the Institute of E-Commerce of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said.

"The state's forward-looking and sustainable policies have supported the development of all kinds of enterprises in the export of the 'new three types' and played an important guiding role." Liu Chun, vice president of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, said.

Develop diversified export markets

Products such as "new three things" with high technology, high added value and leading green transformation have become new export growth points, reflecting the effective improvement of China's export quality and reasonable growth in quantity, and an important embodiment of the high-quality development of China's foreign trade.

Hong Yong analyzed that in terms of foreign trade quality improvement, the export growth of the "new three things" shows that China's new energy vehicles and other industries have international competitiveness and can compete with other countries' products in the international market. China's foreign trade is upgrading from low-end processing to high-end manufacturing.

In terms of achieving high-quality development, the export of the "new three things" shows that China's related industries have been able to occupy a place in the global market and have strong competitiveness and innovation capabilities. This also shows that China is accelerating the transformation of its economic development mode, from traditional low-end processing and manufacturing to high-end manufacturing and service industries, and achieving high-quality development.

Looking ahead, the environment facing China's foreign trade is still severe and complex, and the penetration rate of the "new three things" in the markets of major countries is still low. How will China continue to maintain the good trend of "new three things" exports?

Improving overseas operation capabilities - Recently, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Promoting the Stable Scale and Excellent Structure of Foreign Trade", which proposed that various localities and business associations organize automobile enterprises and shipping companies to conduct direct customer docking, and guide automobile enterprises to sign medium- and long-term agreements with shipping enterprises. Encourage Chinese banks and their overseas institutions to innovate financial products and services under the premise of legal compliance and controllable risks, and provide financial support for automobile enterprises overseas. All localities will further support automobile enterprises to establish and improve international marketing service systems, and enhance their ability to carry out brand promotion, display sales and after-sales service overseas.

Actively expand diversified markets - Hong Yong suggested that in order to enhance the recognition of China's "new three" products in the international market, relevant enterprises should actively participate in international technical exchanges, project cooperation and other activities, strengthen cooperation with other countries in the field of new energy, improve the brand image of Chinese enterprises, and expand market share. It is understood that in order to diversify the supply chain and export location, since last year, China's "new three things" exports to emerging countries and regions are also growing rapidly. In March this year, BYD entered the Jordanian new energy passenger vehicle market; The launch of the star model "BYD ATTO 3" in Thailand triggered local users to rush to buy in the middle of the night, and became the champion of new energy vehicle sales in Thailand in the first quarter of this year, and the model won the single-model sales champion in Israel for five consecutive months.

Hong Yong said that the "new three" export enterprises need to constantly expand new markets and reduce their dependence on a single market to reduce risks. At the same time, it is also necessary to get rid of the internal consumption competition such as simple price wars in the past, and continuously improve the quality and reputation of products with the core goal of building sustainable industrial competitiveness and increasing international market share.

According to expert analysis, the "new three things" belong to the industry of "long slopes and thick snow". With the continuous innovation of related technologies and the continuous improvement of product quality, it is expected that the export volume of the "new three types" will continue to maintain a good momentum of rapid growth in the future. (People's Daily Overseas Edition)