"Good start" in foreign trade demonstrates economic resilience (commentator's observation)
——Confidence from the new economic highlights at the beginning of the year ①
Laying a solid foundation at the beginning is crucial to the smooth progress of the work throughout the year. Judging from the performance of the national economy from January to February this year, all major indicators were better than expected, and positive factors continued to accumulate. This edition launches a series of comments starting today to analyze new economic drivers and new highlights, inject confidence into promoting high-quality economic and social development, and gather strength to achieve the annual economic and social development goals.
--editor
Against the background of rising trade protectionism and unilateralism, my country's export growth rate has returned to "double digits", fully reflecting the international competitiveness of my country's foreign trade and demonstrating the strong resilience of our economy.
How are the foreign trade orders this year? When you visit Zhejiang Yiwu International Trade City, you can directly see signs of the return of foreign businessmen and the recovery of trade. "Orders have increased significantly." A person in charge of a toy factory said that as of mid-March, it had received orders worth more than 4 million yuan, an increase of more than 20% year-on-year. The factory is working overtime to rush to produce the orders. From January to February this year, Yiwu City’s total import and export value increased by 47.3% year-on-year.
Not only Yiwu, but also my country's foreign trade as a whole has achieved a "good start" this year. Data released by the General Administration of Customs shows that in the first two months of 2024, the total value of my country's import and export of goods trade increased by 8.7% year-on-year, reaching a record high for the same period in history, and the growth rate was about 7 percentage points faster than the fourth quarter of last year. Among them, exports increased by 10.3% year-on-year, and the growth rate returned to "double digits" since April last year. Confirmed by the growth in foreign trade data, the port is busy. The container throughput of Ningbo Zhoushan Port increased by more than 15%, and the container throughput of Shenzhen Port increased by 23.5%. The opening performance of foreign trade this year exceeded market expectations and effectively boosted market confidence.
This “report card” is hard-won. At present, the world economic growth momentum is insufficient and demand is weakening, and international trade and investment growth are still facing great downward pressure. Against the background of rising trade protectionism and unilateralism, my country's export growth rate has returned to "double digits", which fully reflects the international competitiveness of my country's foreign trade and demonstrates the strong resilience of our economy.
Foreign trade has stabilized and improved, which is not only reflected in the steady increase in scale, but also in the improvement of quality. From the perspective of business entities, the import and export performance of private enterprises and state-owned enterprises have increased, and their vitality has been further restored. As my country's largest foreign trade entity, private enterprises imported and exported 3.61 trillion yuan in the first two months of this year, an increase of 17.7%. From the perspective of product value, export commodities are moving up the value chain. Domestic fashion brands such as electric vehicles, cultural and creative products, and beauty products are popular overseas. New foreign trade formats and new models are gaining momentum. Cross-border e-commerce and market procurement exports Both achieved double-digit growth. From the perspective of market layout, trading partners are more diversified and stable, trade relations with emerging markets are closer, and growth space is further expanded. Among them, imports and exports to countries jointly building the “Belt and Road” increased by 9%, and the growth rate was higher than the overall level. Thanks to a series of policies and measures to promote industrial upgrading and stabilize foreign trade, the industrial foundation, factor endowments, and innovation capabilities of my country's foreign trade development have been continuously enhanced, laying a more solid foundation for the high-quality development of foreign trade.
It should also be noted that the current external environment is still severe and complex, and foreign trade still faces some difficulties and uncertainties. It still requires hard work to achieve the goal of improving quality and stabilizing quantity throughout the year. On the basis of stabilizing the fundamentals of foreign trade, we must promote the optimization and upgrading of industrial and supply chains, expand trade in intermediate goods, support enterprises in exploring diversified markets, and constantly find new growth points. Among them, high-quality, high-tech, and high-value-added green and low-carbon products are trade categories with potential. At the same time, "policy gift packages" such as improving the level of trade facilitation, helping enterprises reduce burdens and fees, and optimizing the port business environment need to continue to release dividends, thereby further stimulating micro-level vitality and cross-border flow activity. By practicing our internal skills, continuing to enhance our own strength, strengthening cooperation, creating greater room for maneuver, optimizing the environment, and providing more trade facilitation, we will surely be able to maintain good momentum and seize the initiative in the fierce international competition.
Foreign trade is an important part of my country's open economy and a key hub for smooth domestic and international dual circulation. This year's "Government Work Report" proposed: "Promote the quality improvement and stable quantity of foreign trade." Judging from the development momentum at the beginning of the year, my country's foreign trade has demonstrated strong resilience and has also released new potential. In combination with the current new situation and changes, more targeted policies and measures will be introduced to form a joint force to promote the high-quality development of foreign trade. The good momentum will surely be continued throughout the year and provide stronger support for the economic recovery. (People's Daily Li Hongxing)