According to Chengdu Customs District P.R.CHINA on June 14, the total value of Sichuan’s foreign trade in goods in the first five months of 2022 reached 396.23 billion yuan, ranking 8th in China. The 16.4% year-on-year (YoY) increase ranked 13th in the country. In breakdown, the value of exports expanded by 22.9% to reach 237.75 billion yuan while the value of imports rose 7.8% to 158.48 billion yuan. 

From January to May, Sichuan’s import and export of goods mainly showed six characteristics as follows: 

First, market entities engaged in foreign trade showed great resilience and private enterprises played a prominent role. The number of foreign trade enterprises with actual performance in Sichuan grew by 628 to 5,525. The trade value of private enterprises amounted to 127.16 billion yuan, an increase of 54.2%. These enterprises contributed 80.2% to the province’s total. 

Second, Sichuan’s foreign trade with its major trading partners, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), grew steadily. The value of imports from and exports to the USA, ASEAN, EU, China’s Taiwan and South Korea, Sichuan’s top five trading partners, accounted for 66.8% of the province’s total over the same period. Besides, the foreign trade with countries and regions along the Belt and Road jumped 24.1%. 

Third, the trade structure was optimized with the proportion of general trade being increased. Sichuan’s general trade imports and exports added up to 128.11 billion yuan, up 62.5%. They accounted for 32.3% of Sichuan’s total value of foreign trade over the same period, a rise of 9.2 percentage points higher than the same period in 2021. 

Fourth, some cities (prefectures) showed significant growth momentum. In the first five months of 2022, 21 cities (prefectures) of Sichuan achieved positive growth in imports and exports. Among them, Chengdu remained the leader with the value of foreign trade being 335.54 billion yuan, rising by 12.2% and accounting for 84.7% of the province’s total. Mianyang, Yibin and Luzhou showed great resilience and potential, achieving growth of 20.5%, 35.3% and 95.1% respectively. In addition, the foreign trade value of Liangshan, Ya’an and Guangyuan surged 3.1, 2.7 and 1.9 times respectively. 

Fifth, in all goods, machinery and electronic products kept growing steadily in export and labor-intensive products maintained growth momentum. Exports of machinery and electronic products were worth 178.73 billion yuan, growing by 6.9% and accounting for 75.2% of Sichuan’s total in the same period. Exports of labor-intensive products saw a rise of 1.4 times to reach 21.04 billion yuan while exports of agri-products totaled 3.16 billion yuan with an increase of 93.8%. 

Sixth, imports of machinery and electronic products accounted for more tan 80%; imports of consumer goods and resource products grew fast and steadily. The value of imported machinery and electronic products amounted to 127.7 billion yuan, which accounted for 80.6% of the province’s total value of imports. Imports of consumer goods and resource products were worth 4.69 billion yuan, a surge of 96.4%. Moreover, the value of imported metallic mineral sands expanded by 2.5 times to reach 5.82 billion yuan.