Chinese international trade grew 24% year-on-year in March

Beijing, Apr 13 (EFE).- China’s trade with the rest of the world increased 24 percent year-on-year in March, according to data published Tuesday by the country’s General Administration of Customs.

The volume of Chinese foreign trade reached 3.02 trillion yuan ($461 billion dollars,) and official statistics show exports grew 20.7 percent year-on-year in March, reaching 1.55 trillion yuan. Imports rose 27.7 percent to 1.46 trillion yuan in the same period.

Trade surplus was 879.8 billion yuan, and in the first quarter total, Chinese international trade increased 29.2 percent year-on-year to reach 8.47 trillion yuan.

Data from the administration showed exports grew by 38.7 percent year-on-year in the first three months, while imports grew by 19.3 percent.

Trade surplus in that period increased by 690.6 percent to 759,290 million yuan, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Administration spokesman Li Kuiwen said this increase responds to the progress made by China in preventing and controlling the pandemic, which has allowed its economy to reactivate before other countries.

However, the notable increase in Chinese foreign trade in the first quarter is also partly due to last year’s low comparative base.

At the end of January and throughout February 2020, Chinese authorities paralyzed the country to fight the coronavirus pandemic, whose first cases were diagnosed in Wuhan. Economic activity only gradually resumed from March 2020. EFE

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