In the January-March period of the current year, China’s foreign trade value (in RMB) with the One Belt, One Road area increased by 7.8 percent year on year, accounting for 28.6 percent of China’s overall foreign trade, up 1.1 percentage point compared to the January-February period of the year, as announced by China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC). The growth of China’s foreign trade with the One Belt, One, Road area in the first quarter was 4.1 percentage points higher than China’s overall foreign trade growth.
In particular, China’s exports to its main export destinations, including the EU, ASEAN, Japan, South Korea and Russia rose by 14.4 percent, 15.6 percent, 8.0 percent, 11.2 percent and 9.1 percent year on year. However, China’s exports to and imports from the US in the January-March period decreased by 3.7 percent and 28.3 percent year on year.
The MOC stated that China’s VAT reduction exerts a positive impact on foreign trade growth, while global economic and trade growth has slowed down significantly. It pointed out that the World Trade Organization (WTO) has reduced its global trade growth expectations, which will result in downward pressure on China’s exports.