China's Trade July 2023

According to the data from China's General Administration of Customs of August 8, expressed in dollars, China's international trade with the rest of the world showed a negative trend in the first seven months of 2023 in exports (-5 per cent) and imports (-7.6 per cent) and aggregate trade (-6.1 per cent).

China confirms the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region as its first partner with USD 518 billion in the first seven months of 2023, followed by the European Union (USD 464 billion), and the United States (USD 381 billion).

Trade with the African countries increased by 0.6 per cent, while trade with the 10 member countries of the ASEAN fell by 3.8 per cent, and trade with countries in the LATAM region, which includes Mexico, Central America and all of South America, declined by 1.3 per cent.

China's trade with the European Union decreased by 6.6 per cent, while that with the United States declined by 15.4 per cent.

The imports of products from the European Union to China increased the most from the Netherlands (16.8 per cent), France (12.5 per cent), and Italy, which according to Chinese customs data grew by 0.2 per cent, above the EU average (-1.9 per cent).

According to Italian Istat data, which differ in terms of customs incoterms, shipping times and other attribution criteria, Italian exports to China during the period of January-June 2023 increased year-on-year by 45.6 per cent.