In the first quarter of 2022, China’s imports and exports of mechanical and electrical products totaled US$748 billion, 9.3 percent higher than a year prior. Besides, exports grew by 12.1 percent to US$479.7 billion, and imports grew by 4.7 percent to US$268.4 billion. The trade balance of mechanical and electrical products grew by 23.1 percent to US$211.3 billion in surplus, US $48.4billion higher than the total commodity surplus.

Exports in March: year-on-year increase of 11.4 percent
In March, China’s exports of mechanical and electrical products reached US$162 billion, up 11.4 percent year on year, realizing the positive year-on-year growth for 22 consecutive months. General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) announced that during the first quarter of 2022, exports of solar cells, lithium batteries and motor vehicles grew by 100.8 percent, 53.7 percent and 83.4 percent respectively in RMB.

The export volume of mobile phones decreased year-on-year for the third consecutive month. In March, China exported 66.86 million mobile phones, which decreased by 8.6 percent year-on-year, and during the first quarter, the export volume has decreased by 16.9 percent. While driven by the average unit price, the exports value of mobile phones increased by 14 percent year-on-year in March and 5.3 percent in the first quarter, reflecting that the trend of volume reduction and price increase continued.

The export volume of household appliances decreased for the fifth consecutive month year-on-year. In March, 262 million units of household appliances were exported to US$7.45billion, with a year-on-year decrease of 8.0 percent and 8.4 percent respectively. In the first quarter, the export volume of household appliances decreased by 7.9 percent and the export value decreased by 5.3 percent.

Imports in March: falling for the first time in two years
In March, China’s imports of mechanical and electrical products reached US$94.25billion, which decreased by 2.5 percent year-on-year, breaking the trend of positive growth for 21 consecutive months since June 2020. The imports of parts and accessories of vehicle (-19.6%), medical or surgical instruments and apparatuses (-15.7%), diodes and similar semiconductors (-4.8%) and machine-tools (-10.7%) decreased.

In March, the import volume of integrated circuits decreased by 17.9 percent year-on-year to 48.4 billion units, which fell for the fourth consecutive month. The import value was supported by the rise of unit price, which increased by 7.2 percent year-on-year to US $38.36billion.

Data Source: www.customs.gov.cn