China Trade +31.9% Oct 2021

The General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) released on November 7th the data about the international trade in October 2021.

According to the disclosed figures, the growth pace in trade flows with international partners slowed down from the previous month, mainly due to the new COVID outbreaks and power crunch: in October, Chinese companies exported goods for USD 300 billion and imported for USD 216 billion. The total monthly trade was USD 516 billion, and the surplus increased to USD 84 billion. Cumulatively, total trade in 2021 reached so far USD 4,892 billion (+31.8% compared to the same period in 2020). The value of exports increased to USD 2,701 billion, while imports grew to USD 2,191 billion, growing respectively by 31.9% and 31.6% compared to the same period in 2020.

The main trading bloc is represented by RCEP members, consisting of ASEAN countries plus Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. RCEP will enter into force on January 1st, 2022 and is expected to boost the flows between the trading members. RCEP members currently account for 31% of the total Chinese trade, with trading flows exceeding USD 1,517 billion.

The European Union is the second partner of China (13.7% of total trade): among the EU members, the most important partners are Germany (USD 191 billion, +25.9% compared to the same period in 2020), Netherlands (USD 92 billion, +27.3%), France (USD 69 billion, +32%), and Italy (USD 60 billion, +37%).

The United States is the third partner of China, accounting for 12.5% of total trade. It shall be noted that the US accounts only for 6.6% of Chinese imports, but it is a valuable destination market for Chinese goods, accounting for 17.2% of Chinese exports.