China’s foreign trade levels rose to record high levels in 2022, despite the adverse impacts of a renewed round of Covid lockdowns and heightened geopolitical tensions.
According to figures released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on 13 January, in 2022 China’s total imports and exports of goods were worth 42.07 trillion yuan, for a year-on-year (YoY) rise of 7.7%.
This included 23.97 trillion in exports, for YoY growth of 10.5%, and 18.1 trillion yuan in imports, for growth of 4.3%.
2022 marks the sixth year that China’s foreign trade in goods has ranked first in the world, , as well as the first time that its foreign trade levels have breached the 40 trillion yuan threshold. 2022 also marks the 14th consecutive year that China has been the world’s biggest exporter, with a 14.7% share of the global market.
ASEAN was China’s biggest trade partner for the third consecutive year, with their combined trade volume growing by 15% in 2022 to reach 6.52 trillion yuan.
China’s trade with the EU rose 5.6% to reach 5.65 trillion yuan, while trade with the United States rose 3.7% to reach 5.05 trillion yuan.
Trade between China and Belt and Road nations grew 19.4%, accounting for 32.9% of China’s foreign trade, for a rise of 3.2 percentage points.
Private enterprises accounted for 50.9% of China’s foreign trade in 2022, for an increase of 2.3 percentage points compared to the previous year, and marking the first time that their share accounted for over half of the total. Private enterprises made an 80.8% contribution to growth in China’s foreign trade in 2022.
