[International Sharp Review] China is worthy of being the ＂stabilizer＂ of global trade.

　　The General Administration of Customs of China released the data of foreign trade import and export in the first quarter of this year on Friday (12th), showing that the total value of foreign trade import and export reached 7.01 trillion yuan, up 3.7% year-on-year, of which 3.77 trillion yuan was exported, up 6.7%. Imports reached 3.24 trillion yuan, up 0.3%. Against the background of the current escalation of trade tension and the further slowdown of global trade growth, it is not easy for China to achieve the above-mentioned achievements in foreign trade import and export in the first quarter, which shows the strong resilience of China’s economy and the great potential of China’s market.

　　Specifically, China’s foreign trade import and export in the first quarter showed the characteristics of "stabilizing and improving quality", mainly in three aspects:

　　First, trading partners are becoming more diversified. For example, while the total trade volume between China and the United States declined by 11% in the first quarter, China’s imports and exports to major trading partners such as the European Union, ASEAN and Japan increased by 11.5%, 8.1% and 3.2% respectively. In particular, the import and export of countries along the Belt and Road increased by 7.8%, which was 4.1 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of foreign trade, accounting for 28.6% of the total foreign trade, indicating that trade cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road is becoming a new driving force for China’s foreign trade development. At the same time, China’s imports and exports to Latin America and Africa accounted for 7% and 4.6% respectively, up 0.7 and 0.1 percentage points year-on-year. This diversification of trading partners will help China to hedge against the adverse effects of Sino-US economic and trade frictions and enhance its ability to resist risks.

　　Second, the structure of import and export products is more optimized. On the export side, the export of some mechanical and electrical products and equipment manufacturing products with higher added value has maintained a good growth trend. For example, the export of mechanical and electrical products increased by 5.4% in the first quarter, showing the international competitive advantage of "Made in China". In terms of imports, the imports of consumer goods, medical instruments and instruments increased by 10.5% and 10.8% respectively in the first quarter, indicating that the consumption in Chinese is escalating.

　　Third, the driving force for foreign trade growth is stronger. The import and export of general trade increased by 1.3 percentage points year-on-year, the contribution rate to the growth of total import and export reached 94.5%, and the import and export of private enterprises increased by 9.9%, which became the main force driving the growth of China’s foreign trade. The power from the China market is becoming a strong support for the development of foreign trade.

　　Just ten days ago, the World Trade Organization drastically lowered its forecast for global trade growth this year from 3.7% to 2.6%, a three-year low, mainly due to escalating trade frictions and increasing economic uncertainty. Under such an international situation, China’s foreign trade import and export maintained steady growth in the first quarter, and it was really hard-won.

　　On the one hand, it shows that China’s economy has strong resilience, which has not only withstood the impact test of external trade frictions, but also has the ability to turn crises into opportunities. In March, the purchasing managers index (PMI) of China’s manufacturing industry rebounded to the boom zone, CPI (National Consumer Price Index) remained relatively stable, and PPI (Industrial Producer Ex-factory Price Index) rose relatively … … A number of indicators are improving, indicating that China’s economy is generally stable and progressing steadily. Therefore, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently raised China’s economic growth forecast to 6.3% in 2019, 0.1 percentage point higher than that in January. It can be said that the sound fundamentals of China’s economy have provided important support for the growth of foreign trade.

　　On the other hand, since the supreme leader of president, China, announced at the Boao Forum for Asia a year ago four important measures to open wider to the outside world, such as greatly relaxing market access, creating a more attractive investment environment, strengthening intellectual property protection, and actively expanding imports, the relevant measures have been implemented one by one, which has injected strong impetus into import and export enterprises and created a good environment for foreign trade development. Chad Bourne, a trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in the United States, commented that China’s further opening-up will help ease the tension in international trade.

　　As the second largest economy in the world, China’s foreign trade has maintained steady growth under the current uncertain international trade situation, which undoubtedly released a positive signal and boosted the confidence of global trade. Soon, the second "Belt and Road" international cooperation summit forum will be held in Beijing, and the second China International Import Expo will also be held at the end of the year. This will create greater opportunities for the development of global trade, and China will continue to be the "stabilizer" of global trade. (International Critical Commentator)