SteelOrbis Shanghai
According to China's General Administration of Customs, the latest data released show the continuing effectiveness of China's macro-control measures in terms of reducing exports. Export growth in October slowed down by 0.5 of a percentage point compared with the previous month; meanwhile, the gain in imports accelerated by 9.4 percentage points, with the result that there was a further relaxation of the expanding trade surplus trend.
The latest figures indicate that combined exports and imports in the January-October 2007 period totaled $1.75932 trillion in value, up 23.5 percent year on year. This growth is equal to that of the previous nine months, while the total trading volume is close to the level for the whole of 2006. The total value of exports in January-October reached $985.84 billion, up 26.5 percent year on year; meanwhile, the total value of imports in the same period came to $773.48 billion, up 19.8 percent, constituting a trade surplus for the period of $212.36 billion, up 59 percent. This figure is 10.2 percentage points lower compared with the growth recorded in the previous nine months.
China's imports and exports in October totaled $188.4 billion in value, up 23.6 percent. Of this total, exports amounted to $107.73 billion, up 22.3 percent, while imports reached $80.67 billion, up 25.5 percent. Thus, the trade surplus in October came to $27.05 billion, up 13.5 percent year on year.
In January-October 2007, China's bilateral trade with the EU exceeded $200 billion, as it also did with the US. The EU is China's largest trading partner, with the trading value between the two sides jumping 27.5 percent to $287.52 billion. The trading volume between China and the US, China's second largest partner, rose 15.7 percent in January-October to $248.19 billion. The trading volume between China and Japan totaled $191.89 billion, up 14 percent. In addition, bilateral trade between China and ASEAN countries, Hong Kong, South Korea, as well as Taiwan, came respectively to $163.53 billion, $158.55 billion, $129.7 billion, and $100.86 billion, up 25.9 percent, 20.3 percent, 19.1 percent, and 14.6 percent in that order, all exceeding the level of $100 billion.