According to the Guangdong branch of the General Administration of Customs of China, Guangdong's foreign trade volume totaled 3.59 trillion yuan in the first five months of 2024, an increase of 13.6% compared to the same period in 2023. Exports reached 2.33 trillion yuan, up 10.7%, while imports rose to 1.26 trillion yuan, a growth of 19.2%.
The trade structure has seen significant optimization, with general trade and bonded logistics experiencing rapid growth. In the first five months, Guangdong's general trade imports and exports amounted to 2.14 trillion yuan, up 16.6%, outpacing the overall growth rate by three percentage points and accounting for 59.6% of Guangdong's total trade value. During the same period, processing trade recorded 752.59 billion yuan, up 3.2%, representing 21% of the total, while bonded logistics saw a 25.2% increase to 659.27 billion yuan, accounting for 18.4%.
Private enterprises have continued to expand their import and export scale, becoming a crucial component of Guangdong's foreign trade. In the first five months, private enterprises' trade totaled 2.29 trillion yuan, up 20.4%, making up 63.7% of Guangdong's total trade, an increase of 3.6 percentage points from the previous year. Foreign-invested enterprises recorded 1.11 trillion yuan, a growth of 3%, accounting for 30.9%, while state-owned enterprises' foreign trade reached 183.98 billion yuan, up 3.6%, accounting for 5.1%.
Regional cooperation has deepened, with positive growth achieved with all major trading partners. In the first five months, Guangdong's top five trading partners were ASEAN, HK SAR, the United States, the EU, and Taiwan Province of China, with trade increases of 11.5%, 17.1%, 10%, 5.9%, and 20.2% respectively. Trade with the member countries of the Belt and Road Initiative totaled 1.34 trillion yuan, up 11.1%, and trade with RCEP member countries reached 1.02 trillion yuan, growing by 12.3%.
The renowned "Made in Guangdong" brand continues to shine, with significant growth in the export of certain electromechanical products. In the first five months, electromechanical products accounted for over 60% of Guangdong's exports, with rapid growth in key items such as automatic data processing equipment and its parts. Exports of containers and ships also surged. Electromechanical product exports grew by 8.6%, making up 64.6% of Guangdong's total exports. Notably, exports of automatic data processing equipment and parts, household appliances, and integrated circuits reached 152.62 billion yuan, 139.93 billion yuan, and 107.28 billion yuan, respectively, with growth rates of 14.8%, 16.3%, and 27.3%. Electric passenger vehicles, ships, and containers saw remarkable increases in exports, with figures of 14.11 billion yuan, 12.01 billion yuan, and 7.38 billion yuan, growing by 65.4%, 76.6%, and 113.7% respectively. Additionally, exports of labor-intensive products were 326.34 billion yuan, up 0.2%, accounting for 14%, and steel exports surged sixfold to 72.84 billion yuan, representing 3.1%.
On the import side, both electromechanical and energy product imports grew by more than 20%. Electromechanical product imports rose by 26.4%, making up 63.6% of Guangdong's total imports. Among these, imports of integrated circuits were valued at 436.18 billion yuan, up 26%, automatic data processing equipment and parts at 81.92 billion yuan, up 119%, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment at 23.86 billion yuan, up 233.4%. Imports of coal, crude oil, and natural gas combined amounted to 41.66 million tons, an increase of 46.1%, with a total value of 58.35 billion yuan, up 20.7%.
Source | Yangcheng Evening News
