Trade surplus grows in April

A Russian merchant promotes bread at a trade fair in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, on Saturday. More than 1,520 companies from some 100 countries and regions attended. LYU BIN / FOR CHINA DAILY

BEIJING － China's foreign trade surplus widened in April, customs data showed on Monday.

Exports in yuan-denominated terms rose 14.3 percent year-on-year to 1.24 trillion yuan ($179.8 billion), down from the 22.3 percent rise in March. Imports expanded 18.6 percent to 979.1 billion yuan, compared with a 26.3 percent increase a month earlier.

That leaves a trade surplus of 262.3 billion yuan, up 0.6 percent year-on-year. The surplus widened from 164.3 billion yuan seen in March.

In the first four months, trade volume totaled 8.42 trillion yuan, up 20.3 percent year-on-year.

While the April trade growth fell short of expectations, customs data reflected an improved trade structure.

In the first four months, general trade expanded 21.6 percent year-on-year to 4.75 trillion yuan, accounting for 56.5 percent of the total trade volume.

Trade by private enterprises grew 21.7 percent to 3.17 trillion yuan in the first four months, accounting for 37.6 percent of the total, and 0.4 percentage of a point higher than the same period last year.

"Although there is a drop in the growth of exports, the momentum remains. The global economy is undergoing a recovery," said Liu Xuezhi, a senior analyst at Bank of Communications in Shanghai. "The recovery in exports is sustainable, and exports are expected to continue to maintain their growth in the second quarter."

Liu said that imports in April experienced a relatively rapid increase, which was primarily due to the price effect. The prices of bulk commodities rose compared to the same period last year. In addition, China's economic growth resumed in the first quarter, and demand increased.

Liu predicted that growth in imports will slow down in the future. But in general, imports will keep increasing, and the trade surplus is going to remain.

Despite a rise in protectionist and anti-globalization sentiment, China's imports and exports with major trade partners remained strong.

Mei Xinyu, a researcher at the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Institute at the Ministry of Commerce, said the essence of transforming and upgrading processing trade lies in improving the level of commodities, increasing added value within China and elevating the nation's share of profits earned from the global processing trade value chain.