Chinese foreign trade increases 38.3% January to July
According to new statistics from the General Bureau of China Customs, between January to July 2003 the country’s trade was up 38.3% to $623.11 billion on the year before. Exports amounted to $309.1 billion and imports $313.99 billion - increases of 35.5% and 41.3% respectively – resulting in a deficit of $4.87 billion.
The trade figure for July alone broke all records, reaching $99.98 billion and creating a trade surplus of $ 2.04 billion.
The EU continued as China’s largest trade partner with trade increasing 36.5% to $ 96.01 billion, followed by Japan (+ 28.2% to $92.97 billion) and the USA (+35.3% to $ 91.95 billion).Exports also surged to Canada (+57.9%), Australia (+50.3%) and Korea (49.5%). Machinery and equipment accounted for 54.2% of all exports, totaling $ 167.53 billion, 9.8% higher than the average increment rate. Raw material imports were up 65.1% on the year previous.
