China's trade with other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies reached a historic high, hitting 21.27 trillion yuan (2.95 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first 10 months of 2024.
According to China Customs, trade with other APEC economies grew by 5.7 percent year on year, out-pacing China's overall trade growth rate by 0.5 percentage points.
Among those, China's trade with Vietnam, Peru, Malaysia and Mexico saw a growth rate of 17.4 percent, 16.8 percent, 12.1 percent and 11.7 percent respectively, while trade with China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Taiwan island increased by 11.3 percent and 11 percent, respectively.
China's exports of intermediate goods to other APEC economies grew by 8.4 percent to 5.56 trillion yuan in the first 10 months, accounting for 45.4 percent of its total exports to other APEC economies.
Export of intermediate goods of electronic components, auto parts, accessories for automatic data processing equipment and flat panel display modules registered notable growth of 17.3 percent, 8 percent, 24.8 percent and 24 percent respectively.
During the same period, China also exported a large amount of consumer goods to other APEC economies. For example, textile and apparel exports totaled 906.88 billion yuan, up 3.9 percent; fruit and vegetable exports reached 92.87 billion yuan, up 10.6 percent; furniture and television exports amounted to 181.85 billion yuan, an 8.9 percent increase; and passenger vehicle exports reached 212.35 billion yuan, a sharp growth of 21.6 percent.
In the first ten months, China imported 7.23 trillion yuan worth of intermediate goods from other APEC economies, an increase of 3.5 percent, accounting for 80.2 percent of China's total imports from other APEC economies. Specifically, imports of electromachinery amounted to 2.88 trillion yuan, a growth of 9.6 percent; energy products reached 1.15 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.6 percent; and metal ores totaled 945.1 billion yuan, a growth of 6.4 percent.
Trade between China, other APEC economies sets new record in Jan-Oct period
Trade between China, other APEC economies sets new record in Jan-Oct period
Trade between China, other APEC economies sets new record in Jan-Oct period
Serbian officials and scholars expect that President Aleksandar Vucic's visit to China will further cement the ironclad friendship between the two countries and open up new avenues for cooperation.
At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Serbian President Vucic arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a state visit to China from May 24 to 28. During the visit, the two heads of state will exchange views on bilateral relations, as well as international and regional issues of mutual interest.
As the first European country that has agreed to jointly build a community with a shared future for the new era with China, Serbia is an important partner for China in Southeast Europe. According to high-level Serbian officials, the partnership could expand even further.
"I think that the most important one, apart [from] the infrastructure, will be scientific cooperation and widening the existing cooperation in each field, from infrastructure to culture. Our anchored friendship could become a role model for everyone else," said Marina Ragus, deputy speaker of Serbia's National Assembly.
Bojan Lalic, director of the Belt and Road Institute in Belgrade, anticipates that actions following the two presidents' discussions can bring stability to Serbia's economic and industrial development.
"We expect President Vucic and President Xi to have fruitful discussions, but also some following steps that will bring stability to our economy, to our industry. I truly believe that when speaking about the future, we are speaking about young people, (which) means education, research, science -- those are fields that I believe are fundamental for our exchange, for our future cooperation, and for our win-win achievements and success," said Lalic.
Ljubodrag Savic, a professor at the Faculty of Economy of the University of Belgrade, highlighted the importance of growing trade between the two countries. Since the signing of a bilateral free trade agreement in 2023, exports from Serbia to China nearly doubled, from 1.2 billion U.S dollars the year the agreement was signed to 2 billion U.S. dollars in 2025.
"China treats all countries equally, regardless of their size or so-called importance, maintaining friendly relations with countries around the world. The free trade agreement signed between Serbia and China grants Serbia preferential treatment. Most Serbian products can be exported to China almost duty-free. China is a truly valuable friend to Serbia," said the professor.
Serbian experts predict fruitful outcomes from Vucic's visit to China
