From January to February 2023, China's foreign trade data was released, showing that exports did not decline sharply, but rebounded, breaking some people's pessimistic expectations for China's foreign trade. This is mainly due to the structural adjustment of China's foreign trade and the complementarity of the global industrial chain.
According to statistics, in the first two months of this year, China's total foreign trade reached 618 trillion, only a slight decrease of 08%。Among them, exports increased by 09%, accounting for 58%, the export of mechanical and electrical products was stable, and the export of labor-intensive products declined. This shows that China's exports are transforming to mid-to-high-end manufacturing, which has improved added value and competitiveness.
Among the main partners, the import demand of the United States and the European Union has weakened, resulting in a decline in our exports to them. This is related to the US dollar's interest rate hike and the economic slowdown in Europe and the United States, as well as the United States' attempt to reduce its dependence on China's ** chain. The United States has shifted the import of some low-end goods to Southeast Asia and Mexico, in an attempt to "decouple" from China.
However, this practice has not weakened China's position in the global manufacturing industry, but has increased China's best contacts with Southeast Asia and Mexico. Because the manufacturing industry in these regions still needs to import a lot of raw materials and intermediate goods from China, and China can also export more high-end products from these regions. In fact, in the first two months of this year, ASEAN has become China's largest partner, with exports soaring by 179%, * surplus increased by 91%. Vietnam is a prime example of this, its manufacturing development is a spillover from China's manufacturing industry, and its export growth has also led to China's export growth.
In addition, China's exports to Mexico have continued to grow, while imports from Mexico have declined. This indicates that China is becoming more competitive in the Mexican market, and that the United States is importing more goods from Mexico, partially replacing Chinese exports.
To sum up, China's foreign trade exports have not declined as some people think, but have played a greater role in the global industrial chain, achieving structural optimization and quality improvement. Of course, in the face of the US dollar interest rate hike and the uncertainty of the European and American economies, China's foreign trade exports are still facing certain pressure, and we need to further enhance our resilience and innovation capabilities and move towards a manufacturing power.