China's exports up, imports down in May

A staff member works for the departure of China-Europe freight train X9202 at the Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in north China's Tianjin Municipality, May 20, 2020. The freight train, loaded with cars, accessories, food and clothing, set off from Tianjin to Ulan Bator of Mongolia. (Xinhua/Li Ran)

China's exports rose by 1.4 percent year on year in yuan terms to 1.46 trillion yuan (about 205.74 billion U.S. dollars) in May, official data showed on Sunday.

Imports fell by 12.7 percent to 1.01 trillion yuan last month, resulting in a trade surplus of 442.75 billion yuan, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said.

Foreign trade of goods decreased by 4.9 percent year on year in May to 2.47 trillion yuan.

In the first five months, foreign trade of goods dropped by 4.9 percent year on year to 11.54 trillion yuan, maintaining the same level of decrease during the January-April period.

During the January-May period, ASEAN remained as China's largest trading partner with trade up by 4.2 percent year on year to 1.7 trillion yuan, accounting for 14.7 percent of China's total foreign trade.

Trade with the European Union, the United States and Japan decreased during the period, GAC data showed.

During the same period, the foreign trade volume of private enterprises expanded by 1.8 percent to 5.11 trillion yuan, accounting for 44.3 percent of China's total foreign trade volumes, up by 2.9 percentage points from the same period last year.

General trade, which represents a longer production chain and higher added-value as the key indicator of a country's foreign trade competence, decreased by 4.7 percent year on year in the first five months. However, it accounted for 59.9 percent of the country's total trade, 0.1 percentage points higher over one year ago.

Noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought shockwaves to global trade, experts say it is crucial for China to strengthen the implementation of measures to stabilize foreign trade.

Editor: John Li