China's foreign trade in goods amounted to 20.68 trillion yuan (about 2.9 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first five months of this year, up 15.3 percent year on year, maintaining a steady growth trajectory, according to the latest official data released by the General Administration of Customs on (GAC) on Tuesday.
From January to May, China's trade with countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union and Africa rose 16.6 percent, 10.3 percent and 18.2 percent year on year, respectively. The country's imports and exports with Belt and Road partner countries totaled 10.57 trillion yuan (1.56 trillion U.S. dollars), an increase of 13.6 percent year on year, according to the GAC data.
The total volume of goods imports and exports reached 4.45 trillion yuan (656.7 billion U.S. dollars) in May, growing by 16.9 percent year on year. Specifically, exports rose 13.8 percent over the same period of last year, while imports increased by 21.5 percent year on year.
"Since the beginning of this year, China has actively deepened practical cooperation with global trade and economic partners, injecting stability into international economic and trade operations. As of the end of May, China's monthly imports and exports had exceeded four trillion yuan (590 billion U.S. dollars) for three consecutive months, maintaining a sound performance trend," said Lyu Daliang, director of the statistics and analysis department of the GAC.
Since May 1, China has implemented an expanded zero-tariff treatment on imports from all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations.
In the first five months, China's imports and exports with African countries reached 1.14 trillion yuan (168.2 billion U.S. dollars), representing a year-on-year increase of 18.2 percent. It was the first time for the figure to exceed the one-trillion-yuan mark for the January-to-May period.
In May alone, China's imports from Africa totaled 95.13 billion yuan (14 billion U.S. dollars), up 15 percent year on year, marking the ninth consecutive month-on-month growth.
In the first five months, China's trade with other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies amounted to 12.31 trillion yuan (1.81 trillion U.S. dollars), an increase of 17.4 percent year on year. That figure accounted for nearly 60 percent of China's total foreign trade, reflecting sustained robust economic cooperation across the Asia-Pacific region.
China's foreign trade in goods up 15.3 percent in first five months
