Opportunities and growth, but still challenges for trade

China's total imports and exports of goods in the first five months of this year reached 17.5 trillion yuan ($2.41 trillion), up 6.3 percent year-on-year, and those in May far exceeded market expectations, with exports increasing by 11.2 percent and the import rising by 5.2 percent.

The export of China's high value-added commodities such as mechanical and electrical products have grown rapidly, accounting for nearly 60 percent of total exports, making them an important engine of China's foreign trade growth.

The shift from traditional labor-intensive products to high-end manufacturing products and the continuous optimization of the structure of export commodities reflect the high-quality development of China's economy and its industrial upgrading.

While registering rapid growth in its exports, China's imports have also maintained a good growth momentum. The diversified and high-end trend of import demand, from raw materials to consumer goods, from traditional goods to high-tech products, all reflect the unleashing of China's demands in different fields and levels. Expanded imports have effectively promoted the deep integration of the Chinese and world economy, lubricating the development of global trade.

However, China's foreign trade still faces numerous challenges, because of rising trade protectionism, increased import tariffs imposed by some countries, and the accelerating reconstruction of the global supply chain, to which China needs to actively respond. On the one hand, it should promote industrial upgrading and innovative development, and accelerate the cultivation of new growth drivers for foreign trade. On the other hand, it should strengthen international cooperation, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and create a sound environment for the steady development of foreign trade.

-21ST CENTURY BUSINESS HERALD