From January to May 2013, the total value of my country's foreign trade imports and exports was 1,676.25 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 10.9% after deducting exchange rate factors. Among them, foreign trade export was 878.56 billion US dollars, an increase of 13.5%; foreign trade import was 797.69 billion US dollars, an increase of 8.2%; the trade surplus was 80.87 billion US dollars.

The General Administration of Customs of China announced today the foreign trade import and export data for the first five months of 2013. Customs statistics show that from January to May 2013, the total value of my country's foreign trade imports and exports was 10.51 trillion yuan (equivalent to 1,676.25 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 10.9% year-on-year after deducting exchange rate factors (the same below). Among them, foreign trade exports were 5.51 trillion yuan (equivalent to 878.56 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 13.5%; foreign trade imports were 5 trillion yuan (equivalent to 797.69 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 8.2%; the trade surplus was 507.94 billion yuan (equivalent to 80.87 billion U.S. dollars).

Customs statistics show that in May 2013, my country's total import and export value was 2.15 trillion yuan (equivalent to 345.11 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 0.4%. Among them, foreign trade exports were 1.14 trillion yuan (equivalent to 182.77 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 1%; foreign trade imports were 1.01 trillion yuan (equivalent to 162.34 billion U.S. dollars), a decrease of 0.3%; the trade surplus was 127.84 billion yuan (equivalent to 20.43 billion U.S. dollars). In May 2013, the year-on-year growth rate of my country's foreign trade import and export dropped sharply. On the one hand, the arbitrage trade with Hong Kong was basically curbed, and the trade between the mainland and Hong Kong dropped rapidly; The combined effect of multiple factors such as the high level, the rise in the real effective exchange rate of the RMB, and the deterioration of the trade environment.

In the first five months of 2013, my country's general trade import and export was 858.59 billion US dollars, an increase of 7.1%. Among them, the export was 416.05 billion US dollars, an increase of 12%; the import was 442.54 billion US dollars, an increase of 2.9%. The deficit under the general trade item was US$26.49 billion, a decrease of 54.8%. During the same period, my country's import and export of processing trade was 547.07 billion US dollars, an increase of 3.2%. Among them, the export was 344.13 billion US dollars, an increase of 1.1%; the import was 202.94 billion US dollars, an increase of 7%. The surplus under processing trade was US$141.19 billion, a decrease of 6.3%.

In bilateral trade with major trading partners, China's trade with the EU and Japan has declined, while trade with the United States and ASEAN has increased. According to customs statistics, in the first five months of 2013, the total value of bilateral trade between China and the EU was 214.44 billion US dollars, a decrease of 2.8%. The total bilateral trade value between China and the United States was 202.91 billion US dollars, an increase of 6.9%. In the first five months of 2013, the total value of bilateral trade between the mainland and Hong Kong was US$179.91 billion, an increase of 52%. The total bilateral trade between China and ASEAN was 176.42 billion US dollars, an increase of 14.8%. The total bilateral trade value between China and Japan was 122.7 billion US dollars, down 8.9%.

Seven provinces and cities including Guangdong and Jiangsu accounted for 80% of total imports and exports, and exports from the central and western regions were active. Customs statistics show that in the first five months of 2013, the total import and export value of Guangdong was 475.54 billion US dollars, an increase of 26.9%. During the same period, the total import and export value of Jiangsu and Beijing (including central units in Beijing) was 213.47 billion and 176.66 billion US dollars, an increase of 1.5% and 1.3% respectively; Shanghai's import and export was 172.16 billion US dollars, a decrease of 2.5%. In addition, the total import and export value of Zhejiang, Shandong and Fujian was 130.62 billion, 103.91 billion and 69.1 billion US dollars, an increase of 6%, 7.3% and 18.2% respectively. The total import and export value of the above seven provinces and cities accounted for 80% of China's total foreign trade value.

In terms of exports, in the first five months of 2013, Guangdong exported 269.75 billion US dollars, an increase of 23.4%. Jiangsu and Zhejiang exported US$127.98 billion and US$94.95 billion respectively, up 4.2% and 10.6% respectively; Shanghai exported US$80.54 billion, down 2.3%. During the same period, Shandong, Fujian and Beijing exported 51.31 billion, 43.18 billion and 25.08 billion U.S. dollars respectively, an increase of 4.3%, 20.6% and 10.1% respectively. In addition, exports in the central and western regions maintained rapid growth. The export growth rates of provinces and cities such as Anhui, Jiangxi and Sichuan were 60.2%, 25.7% and 13.8% respectively.

In the first five months of 2013, the import and export of foreign-invested enterprises reached US$755.28 billion, an increase of 0.7%. During the same period, the import and export of private enterprises reached US$535.63 billion, an increase of 41%, which was 30.1 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of foreign trade. In addition, the import and export of state-owned enterprises was 301.71 billion US dollars, a decrease of 4.4%.

Among the export commodities, the export of electromechanical products has grown steadily, and the export of traditional labor-intensive products has a good growth momentum. In the first five months of 2013, my country's mechanical and electrical products exported 511.05 billion US dollars, an increase of 14.2%, accounting for 58.2% of the total export value. Among them, the export of electrical appliances and electronic products was 231.65 billion US dollars, an increase of 29.1%; the export of mechanical equipment was 153.45 billion US dollars, an increase of 3.4%. Over the same period, clothing exports were US$61.19 billion, up 16.4%; textiles were US$41.93 billion, up 10.2%; footwear was US$18.83 billion, up 14.7%; furniture was US$21.38 billion, up 18.9%; plastic products were US$13.42 billion, up 23.6%; Luggage and bags were US$10.74 billion, up 20.4%; toys were US$3.7 billion, up 2.7%; the total export of the above seven labor-intensive products was US$171.2 billion, up 15.4%, accounting for 19.5% of the total export value. In addition, steel exports were 25.4 million tons, an increase of 15.4%; automobiles were 380,000, an increase of 11.3%.

Among imported commodities, the import volume of some energy and resource products decreased. In the first five months of 2013, China imported 320 million tons of iron ore, an increase of 4.7%, with an average import price of US$134.2 per ton, a decrease of 4%; 20.57 million tons of soybeans, a decrease of 12.2%, with an average import price of US$611.1 per ton 18.32 million tons of refined oil, an increase of 6%, with an average import price of US$783.4 per ton, a decrease of 8.8%; 9.52 million tons of plastics in primary shapes, an increase of 1.9%, with an average import price of US$1991.2 per ton, an increase 0.6%; 5.75 million tons of steel, a decrease of 1.8%, with an average import price of US$1195.3 per ton, a decrease of 9.9%; 1.622 million tons of unforged copper and copper products, a decrease of 24.7%, and an average import price of US$8201.1 per ton, a decrease of 2.7% %; Unwrought aluminum and aluminum products were 321,000 tons, a decrease of 38.7%, and the average import price was US$4,773.6 per ton, an increase of 23.2%. In addition, the import of electromechanical products was 342.13 billion US dollars, an increase of 15.1%; of which, the number of automobiles was 423,000, a decrease of 17.1%.