Chinese private enterprises’ trade hits $3.4 trillion in 2024

China’s private enterprises recorded a foreign trade volume of 24.33 trillion yuan ($3.4 trillion) in 2024, an 8.8 per cent increase from the previous year, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said.

According to China Central Television (CCTV), this growth reflects a significant enhancement in China’s foreign trade vitality in 2024, with the number of enterprises engaged in import and export transactions reaching a historic high.

Private enterprises accounted for 55.5 per cent of China’s total foreign trade value, achieving three noteworthy milestones, the GAC said.

Firstly, the number of private enterprises with import and export records exceeded 600,000 for the first time, reaching 609,000, continuously injecting new momentum into foreign trade development.

Secondly, private enterprises have become the largest importers and exporters of high-tech products for the first time. Their import and export of high-tech products grew by 12.6 per cent, with their share in China’s total high-tech trade rising 3 percentage points to 48.5 per cent. This includes over 20 per cent growth in the export of high-end equipment like ships and the import of specialised equipment like semiconductor manufacturing machinery.

Thirdly, private enterprises’ share in China’s consumer goods imports exceeded 50 per cent for the first time, up 2.8 percentage points year-on-year to 51.3 per cent. In products like daily chemicals and fruits, their share has surpassed 60 per cent, making foreign trade more closely connected to people’s daily lives.

Meanwhile China’s foreign trade of goods increased by 4.9 per cent year-on-year to reach 39.79 trillion yuan ($5.49 trillion) in the first 11 months of 2024, according to Global Times.

Exports rose 6.7 per cent year-on-year to reach 23.04 trillion yuan, while imports edged up 2.4 per cent year-on-year to reach 16.75 trillion yuan in the first 11 months, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

Thanks to the government’s package of pro-growth policies, the country’s foreign trade volume registered a 1.2-percent increase year-on-year in November 2024 alone in yuan-denominated terms, totalling 3.75 trillion yuan, with monthly foreign trade volume maintaining growth in the eighth consecutive month of growth, according to the GAC.

In the first 11 months, foreign trade handled by private enterprises accounted for 55.3 per cent of the country’s total trade, representing a 2-percentage-point increase from the same period last year, GAC data showed.

The value of China’s international trade in goods and services reached 4.18 trillion yuan in August 2024, marking an increase of 4 per cent year-on-year, official data showed.

In US dollar terms, the country’s exports of goods and services amounted to 322.4 billion US dollars, while imports totaled $263.5 billion, recording a surplus of $58.9 billion, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said.

According to the official data, carried by Xinhua, the export value of goods reached nearly 2.07 trillion yuan while the import value of goods totaled about 1.5 trillion yuan, resulting in a surplus of 572.4 billion yuan.

The value of exported services amounted to 230.8 billion yuan and the value of imported services stood at 383 billion yuan, producing a deficit of 152.2 billion yuan.

China’s total goods imports and exports expanded 6 per cent year-on-year in yuan terms in the first eight months of this year, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing official data.

The country’s exports rose 6.9 per cent year-on-year in January-August 2024, while imports climbed 4.7 per cent, according to the General Administration of Customs. In US dollar terms, the country’s foreign trade in goods stood at $4.02 trillion from January to August, up 3.7 per cent year-on-year. Exports rose 4.6 per cent from a year ago, while imports increased 2.5 per cent year-on-year.

Trade surplus expanded by 11.2 per cent year-on-year to $608.49 billion during the eight month.

The value of China’s international trade in goods and services reached approximately 4.24 trillion yuan in July 2024, marking a 12 per cent increase year-on-year, according to official data released on Friday.

According to a report by China Central Television (CCTV), the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has stated that, in US dollar terms, the country’s exports and imports of goods and services totalled $317.5 billion and $276.4 billion, respectively.

SAFE stated that the trade surplus reached 293.3 billion yuan (approximately $41.1 billion), setting a new monthly record high since 2023.

Beijing, China’s capital city, saw its foreign trade volume hit a record high of 1.83 trillion yuan (about 256.61 billion US dollars) in the first half of 2024, data from the local customs bureau showed.