SFC Markets and Finance｜Guangdong's foreign trade hit 8.3 trillion RMB in 2023

南方财经全媒体记者谢鸿州 杨雨莱广州报道

Guangdong'sforeigntradehit8.3trillionRMBin2023

InthepressconferenceheldonJanuary16,detailsaboutGuangdong's2023importandexportsituationweredisclosed.In2023,thetotalvalueofGuangdong'sforeigntradehit8.3trillionRMB,anincreaseof0.3%over2022.Let'sgetthekeytakeawaysfromourcorrespondentXieHongzhou,reportingdirectlyfromthescene.

Guangdong’sforeigntradeaccountsfor19.9%ofcountry’stotalimport,exportvalue

XieHongzhou:AlotofstatisticshavebeenreleasedtodayatthepressconferenceconcerningGuangdong’simportandexport.TherearesomehighlightsthatIhavenoted.

Firstofall,Guangdong’sforeigntradein2023accountsfor19.9percentofthecountry’stotalimportandexportvalue,rankingfirstfor38consecutiveyears.Thatisatrulyremarkableachievement.Additionally,theexportofnewenergyproductsincreasedsubstantially,includingtheexportofelectricvehicles,solarcells,andlithiumbatteries.StatisticsalsoshowGuangdong’stradewithemergingmarketsisontherise,especiallywithcountriesparticipatingintheBeltandRoadInitiative,makingupmorethan30%ofthetotalvalue.

WhatarethedetailsofthehighlightsandtheoverviewoftheGuangdong’simportandexport,let’shearitfromWenZhencai,theDeputyDirectorofGuangdongSub-AdministrationoftheGACC. 

TradewithBRIcountriesontherise

WenZhencai: Inthefaceoftheunstableglobaleconomicrecovery,weakenedexternaldemand,pricedeclines,andsluggishgrowthinmajoreconomies,Guangdong'sforeigntradehaswithstoodpressure,andoverallremainedstablewithprogress,surpassingexpectationsandreachingahistoricalhigh.

Theoverallforeigntradeisstable,withaclearpositivetrend.In2023,Guangdong'sforeigntradeaccountedfor19.9%ofthecountry’stotalforeigntrade,rankingfirstinChina.Tradewithemergingmarketsincreased,andtradewithdevelopedeconomiesalsorebounded.In2023,Guangdong'stradewithcountriesparticipatingintheBeltandRoadInitiativereached3.04trillionRMB,ayear-on-yearincreaseof1%,accountingfor36.6%ofthetotalforeigntradevalue,anincreaseof0.3%.TradewithLatinAmericaandAfricagrewby7.5%and3.9%,respectively.Inthe4thquarter,tradewiththeU.S.andtheEUrebounded,accountingfor12.1%and11.7%oftheannualtotal,respectively.

Lookingahead,thecomplexity,severity,anduncertaintycontinuetogrow.Insufficientdemandcontinuestorestrainbusinesses.Enterprisesarefacingmanyobstaclesinmanufacturing.Whilefacingthesedifficultiesandchallenges,itisessentialtorecognizethatthefundamentaltrendofChina'seconomicrecoveryandpositivetrajectoryoverthelongrunremainsunchanged.

MorehighlightsofGuangdong'sforeigntrade

Guangdonghaslongbeenavitalhubforinternationaltrade.AstheconferencehighlightedkeytrendsinGuangdong'stradeactivitiesthroughouttheyear2023,weturntoChenWanling,professoratGuangdongUniversityofForeignStudies,tointerpretthesenumbersandunderstandtheirimplicationsforGuangdong'soveralltradeperformance.

Guangdong'sforeigntradeachievedoverallgrowthandstructuralimprovement

ChenWanling:Itisquitepleasingtoachievesuchresultsundertheglobaleconomicandtradesituationof2023.

Thedemandofdevelopedcountrieswasrelativelysluggishin2023,andtheinternationalgeopoliticalturmoilincreasedmoreuncertainties.Atthesametime,somedevelopedcountriesincludingtheUnitedStatesaretakinga"derisking"approach,aimingtograduallyreducetheproportionofimportsfromChina,whichisveryunfavorableforChina'sexportsituation.

However,aseriesofpoliciesforstabilizingforeigntradeandinvestmentin2023havemadeagoodimpact.Therefore,achievingpositivegrowthin2023iscommendable.

Secondly,thestructureofimportandexporthasimproved,withtheincreasingproportionofmechanicalandelectricalproducts.Inaddition,thegrowthrateof"NewThree"productsrepresentinghigh-techproductsisrelativelyhighat33.7%.Overall,therehasbeenapositivegrowthinthetotalvolumewithsomestructuralimprovement,ofGuangdong'sforeigntradein2023.

Guangdong'sforeigntradewillcontinuetogrowin2024

ChenWanling:ThetrendofGuangdong'sforeigntradein2024willcontinuetogrow.Fromthedatareleasedin2023,thedatainthesecondhalfwasbetterthanthefirsthalf,sothetrendmaycontinue.Intermsoftheinternationaleconomicandtradesituation,theU.S.hascontrolledinflation.Raisinginterestratesceases.Employmentrebounds.Demandincreases.Itwillleadtotheincreasingdemandforimports.ThedestockingofotherdevelopedcountriesinEuropehascometoanend.So,therewillbeadditionaldemandin2024witheconomicrecovery. 

Fromadomesticperspective,China'sdomesticmarketmaygraduallyrecoverin2024.Theimportationwillhaveagoodperformancewiththerecoveryofdomesticconsumption.Secondly,aseriesofimportandexportpromotionpoliciesimplementedsince2023mayfurtherfunctionin2024.What’smore,theBeltandRoadInitiativewillimprovemarketdiversification.TheexpansionofBRICSandtheoperationofRCEPwillmakecertainimpactin2024,whichmayfurtherdrivethegrowthofGuangdong'sforeigntrade.

PrivateEconomyDrivingGuangdong’sHigh-QualityDevelopment

In2023,Guangdong'sprivateenterprisesimportedandexported5.04trillionRMB,anincreaseof6%,accountingfor60.7%ofGuangdong'stotalforeigntradevalue.Tofurtherboostgrowthandhigh-qualitydevelopmentoftheprivateeconomy,Guangdonghasrecentlyreleasedthe"30Measures".

HowdoestheprivateeconomyimpactGuangdong'sforeigntrade?Andhowwillthelatest"30Measures"empowerprivateenterprisestogoglobal?WeexplorethesequestionswithinsightsfromXieBaojian,ProfessoroftheSchoolofEconomicsatJinanUniversity. 

Theroleofprivateeconomyiscrucial

XieBaojian:Weoftensay,whenitcomestoglobaltrade,alleyesareonChina,whenitcomestoChina'strade,thespotlightisonGuangdong,whichisalsooneofthemostdevelopedregionsforprivateeconomy.TheroleoftheprivateeconomyandenterpriseshasbeencrucialinsupportingGuangdong'sforeigntradeovertheyears.

Firstly,privateenterprisesstrategicallyexpandintooverseasmarketssecuringinternationalordersandmarketshares.Assuch,thecontributionofGuangdong'sprivateenterprisesissignificant.Secondly,Guangdong'sprivateenterpriseshaveconsistentlydemonstratedremarkableresilienceinfacinginternationaltradefrictions.

Thethirdaspectistheuniqueadvantageofprivateenterprises,which is,theirflexiblemechanisms.Throughthisadaptability,theycontinuouslyrespondtochangesintheinternationalmarket.Indoingso,privateenterprisesexcelinoccupyingoverseasmarketscomprehensively.Intermsofexports,Guangdong'sprivateenterprisesalignwiththedemandsoftheinternationalmarket,capturingasignificantshareintheglobalmarket.

Guangdongconductedstrategicboostforprivateeconomy

XieBaojian:Firstly,the“30Measures”introducedbytheGuangdonggovernmentareconducivetoboostingconfidenceamongprivateenterprises.Thisisparticularlyevidentinactivatingbenefitsforprivateinvestmentandimprovingthewelfareofprivateentrepreneurs.

Secondly,these“30Measures”emphasizeenhancingtheinnovationcapabilitiesofprivateenterprises,specificallysupportingprivateenterprisesinparticipatinginnationalandlocalgovernmentresearchprojects.Intermsofpromotinginnovativedevelopmentintheprivateeconomy,thiscontributessignificantlytoraisingtheinnovationleveloftheprivateeconomy.

Additionally,the“30Measures”highlighttofurthersupporttheexpansionofinternationalmarketsforprivateentrepreneurs,encouragethemtoparticipateinBRIprojects,internationalexhibitions,andexpos.Provideplatformsforprivateenterprisestoexpandglobally,enablingthemtoplayamoresignificantroleinthedualcirculationofdomesticandforeignmarkets.

（市场有风险，投需谨慎。本节目嘉宾意见仅代表本人观点。）

策划：于晓娜  

监制：施诗

责任编辑：李依农

记者：谢鸿州杨雨莱

制作：蔡于恬李群

摄影：黄子豪

新媒体统筹：丁青云曾婷芳赖禧黄达迅

海外运营监制:黄燕淑

海外运营内容统筹:黄子豪 

海外运营编辑：庄欢吴婉婕龙李华张伟韬

出品：南方财经全媒体集团