China's goods trade grew fast in the first ten months of this year, mainly due to international demand and a strong domestic economy.
Foreign trade rose 15.9 percent year on year to 22.5 trillion yuan (3.4 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first ten months of this year, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said Wednesday.
Exports increased 11.7 percent to 12.4 trillion yuan, while imports rose 21.5 percent to 10.1 trillion yuan, said the GAC.
The trade surplus shrank 17.8 percent to 2.3 trillion yuan in the same period.
Exports to the EU, the United States and Japan were up by 16.2 percent, 17.2 percent and 14.2 percent, respectively.
The volume attributed to private enterprises increased by 17.1 percent, 38.4 percent of the total, both up on the same period last year.
In October, foreign trade rose 10.2 percent to 2.2 trillion yuan, with exports up 6.1 percent and imports up 15.9 percent. The trade surplus shrank 20.3 percent to 254 billion yuan.
Exports of machinery, electronics and labor-intensive products continued to expand in the first ten months, while the volume of steel exports dropped 30.4 percent year on year to 64.5 million tonnes.
The world economy has shown signs of warming since the beginning of this year, as the economic situations of major developed economies and emerging markets generally improved.
The IMF last month raised its forecasts for world economic growth to 3.6 percent in 2017 and 3.7 percent in 2018, both 0.1 percentage point higher than its July forecasts.
Growth of Chinese economy and solid economic fundamentals contributed to growth of foreign trade, according to Li Dawei of the National Development and Reform Commission.
China's GDP expanded 6.9 percent year on year in the first three quarters, holding steady with the 6.9 percent growth in the first half.
Major international institutions, including the IMF and the World Bank, have raised their forecasts for China's growth. The IMF has raised its forecast for the fourth time this year, estimating the economy would grow at 6.8 percent this year and 6.5 percent next year, both 0.1 percentage point higher than previous predictions.
In Jan.-Sept., China's value-added industrial output expanded 6.7 percent year on year, faster than the 6 percent increase a year ago. The tertiary sector expanded 7.8 percent year on year in the first three quarters, outpacing a 3.7-percent increase in primary industries and 6.3 percent in the secondary sector.
There are still many uncertainties for trade growth in the final quarter, principally protectionism and competition from other countries, according to Zhao Ping with China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
China's foreign trade should move up to the medium-high end of the global value chain, and the government must continue to improve the business environment, said Li Dawei.
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