Barometers of foreign trade reflect resilience of Chinese economy

Aerial photo taken on June 23, 2022 shows a cargo train, which marks the 10,000th trip made by China-Europe freight trains operated by the China-Europe Railway Express (Chongqing), waiting for departure at Tuanjie Village Central Railway Station in Chongqing, southwest China. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)

Since the beginning of this year, China's foreign trade has been an important factor in stabilizing the macroeconomy.

In the first half of 2022, net exports of goods and services have driven GDP growth by 0.9 percentage points, with the contribution rate reaching 35.8 percent.

Since July, indicators such as ports and logistics have shown that the country's foreign trade has maintained a steady momentum of growth, driving the stabilization and forward-moving trend of the macroeconomy.

-- Cargo throughput of ports increases faster

Cargo throughput of ports is a barometer of the development of foreign trade and national economy.

In late July, cargo throughput of China's major coastal hub ports increased by 18.5 percent year on year, with the growth rate further accelerated from that of the previous period, reflecting the steady development of foreign trade, according to data from the China Ports and Harbours Association.

With a batch of its aluminum products worth 10.185 million yuan (about 1.507 million U.S. dollars) recently leaving north China's Tianjin Port, Tianjin Zhongwang Aluminium Co., Ltd. has exported more than 70,000 tons of aluminum products since the beginning of this year, over five times more than that of the same period last year, according to Wang Jiwei, a representative of the company.

Statistics show that up until now, the export value of aluminum products at Tianjin Port this year has exceeded 8 billion yuan, up more than 200 percent year on year.

Shanghai Port's container throughput in July also hit a record high. According to the Shanghai International Port (Group) Co., Ltd., the container throughput of the port is expected to exceed 4.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), with daily handling volume close to 140,000 TEUs.

In July alone, the export volume of vehicles at Lianyungang Port in east China's Jiangsu Province has exceeded 20,000, hitting a record high for the seventh consecutive month.

-- China-Europe freight train services post handsome performance

The China-Europe freight train services saw robust growth in July, with the number of train trips surged by 11 percent year on year to hit a record 1,517, according to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. The freight trains handled 149,000 TEUs of goods, up 12 percent from a year ago.

From January to July, the number of China-Europe freight train trips saw a 3 percent year-on-year increase to reach 8,990. The trains transported a total of 869,000 TEUs of goods, up 4 percent year on year.

The newly launched sea-rail transport services this year have allowed China-Europe freight trains to reach one more country and 20 more cities. So far, 200 cities in 24 European countries are accessible through the China-Europe freight train services.

Featured by safety, efficiency and low cost, the China-Europe freight train services are favored by more and more enterprises, promoting high-quality development of Belt and Road cooperation. The services have grown to be a major channel for land transportation via Eurasian countries, as well as an important way of China's export transportation.

-- Foreign trade growth reflection of macroeconomic resilience

During the first seven months of 2022, China's foreign trade of goods jumped 10.4 percent year on year to 23.6 trillion yuan. In July, the country's foreign trade rose 16.6 percent from a year ago, according to recent data from the General Administration of Customs.

The growth rate of China's foreign trade has continued to increase since May, which demonstrates strong resilience, said Zhao Ping, vice president of the Academy of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. Especially when comparing with a relatively high figure from last year, it is remarkable that this year's foreign trade is able to remain growth in two consecutive months of June and July with an accelerating growth rate, Zhao highlighted.

To certain extent, foreign trade can reflect the resilience of macroeconomy, said Li Donglin, a researcher with the College of Economics and Management at China Agricultural University. With China being a key link in the global supply chain, the demand for Chinese products in the global market has been strong. This energized the vitality of domestic market, resulting in rapid recovery of industries and employment, as well as full release of the effects of supporting policies, Li noted.

Amid the challenging global economic and trade environment, the fact that China's foreign trade enterprises are showing increasing capabilities to undertake new and existing orders is a reflection of the resilience and the supply chain advantages of China's macroeconomy, Zhao added.