China's Exports and Imports Increase, While Trade Surplus Shrinks（在线收听）

China recorded a nearly 25% increase in exports and imports during the first nine months of this year, while the trade surplus shrunk due to sluggish global demand and rising costs in domestic markets.

Shuangfeng has the story.

 
The first three quarters saw a 24.6-percent year-on-year increase in China's exports and imports, amounting to some 2.7 trillion U.S. dollars.

Despite the growth, the trade surplus shrunk by 10.6 percent during this period.

In September alone, China's trade surplus narrowed for a second straight month to 14.5 billion U.S. dollars, less than half of the 31 billion recorded in July.

The data shows that China's policies to boost imports have taken effect, as foreign trade is becoming more balanced.

Lu Peijun is deputy head of the General Administration of Customs.

"China's foreign trade structure continues to improve, with general trade expanding and processing trade dwindling. China's dependence on traditional markets, including the European Union, the United States and Japan, has been somewhat alleviated, as trade with emerging countries has grown quickly."

From January to September, exports to the EU, the U.S. and Japan accounted for 43.7 percent of the country's total, two percentage points lower compared to a year ago.

Meanwhile, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has surpassed Japan to become China's third-largest trading partner.

Bilateral trade between the two sides reached 270 billion U.S. dollars, up 26 percent.

China's foreign trade is expected to reach 3.5 trillion U.S. dollars this year, 19 percent up from last year.

However, Lu warns that there are still many uncertainties in the future development of China's foreign trade.

"The situation in the global market is more complex as world economy growth may slow down, and protectionism is increasing in developed economies. The RMB exchange rate also fluctuates a lot, which will restrain China's exports. Meanwhile, small and medium-sized enterprises will face more difficulties."

Despite all the challenges, Lu says China will not lose its core competitiveness in manufacturing in the short term.

He says China will remain the largest exporter and the second largest importer in the world.

For CRI, this is Shuangfeng.