China's foreign trade in first 8 months demonstrates vitality: commerce official

China's foreign trade has seen steady progress over the first eight months of the year, demonstrating strong resilience and vitality, an official of the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

Xiao Lu, deputy director of the ministry's Department of Foreign Trade, made the remarks at a press conference on trade and opening up.

A total of 630,000 companies registered actual import and export performances in China from January to August, marking a year-on-year increase of 8.8 percent, according to the data released by the General Administration of Customs.

Data showed the international market for Chinese businesses is becoming more diverse in the eight months. Trade with the European Union and the United States grew by 1.1 percent and 4.4 percent respectively. Meanwhile, trade with emerging markets accounted for 64.6 percent of China's overall trade.

Specifically, trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) surged by 10 percent to 4.5 trillion yuan, making up 15.7 percent of China's total trade and solidifying ASEAN's position as China's largest trading partner.

China's trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has maintained vibrant growth, with the trade volume up 7 percent to about 13.48 trillion yuan (about 1.89 trillion dollars) in the first eight months of this year.

"The technology and brand value of exported products are steadily rising, and the market for green and low-carbon products is vast. New energy vehicles produced in China have been exported to more than 170 countries and regions. Cross-border e-commerce is developing rapidly, with more than 120,000 operating entities, and the product categories and service functions of cross-border e-commerce platforms are also being further expanded," Xiao said.

The official said that China is to release more dividends from its opening up, to bring broader market opportunities to trading partners and jointly promote the prosperity and development of global trade.

China's foreign trade in first 8 months demonstrates vitality: commerce official

China's foreign trade in first 8 months demonstrates vitality: commerce official

The Republic of Korea (ROK) is seeing a surge in demand for plastic trash bags as concerns over potential disruptions to petrochemical supplies from the ongoing Middle East conflict prompt consumers to stockpile.

In ROK, residents are required to use government-designated bags to dispose of household waste. Without them, garbage won’t be collected, making them an essential part of daily life.

The surge in demand reflects fears that the Middle East conflict, which has disrupted oil flows and heightened uncertainty in global petrochemical markets, could choke supplies of naphtha, the raw material for South Korea’s garbage bags.

The government is now regulating naphtha exports to help ensure a stable domestic supply.

Climate, Energy and Environment Minister Kim Sung-whan has also assured the public that there are enough standard garbage bags in stock and that there is no need to stockpile or worry about price hikes. Despite such reassurances, many people are still buying ahead.

Sales of garbage bags in Seoul supermarkets have surged in recent weeks, with some stores now limiting how many each person can buy.

"It's inconvenient because they're unavailable. It's frustrating. We need them, but the stores don't have enough. What are we supposed to do?" said Han, a shopper.

"With garbage bags and plastic goods, there are a lot of difficulties right now because of raw material shortages. I just hope this conflict ends soon," said Kim Man-seok, another shopper.

Experts say it is the fear of disruption, not the disruption itself, that is changing how people behave.

ROK sees panic buying of trash bags as Middle East conflict stirs supply fears