The Changsha Customs held a press conference on Hunan's foreign trade in the third quarter of this year on October 20, 2023. It announced that Hunan's import and export to the economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) reached 243.18 billion CNY in the first nine months, an increase of 0.7% and accounting for 52.6% of the provincial total.

According to the Changsha Customs, Hunan's total import and export value was 462.29 billion CNY during the January-September period, a decrease of 5.5% from the same period of the previous year and ranking 15th in China. Among them, exports were down 14.9% to 306.46 billion CNY while imports up 20.6% to 155.83 billion CNY.

The foreign trade to Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Africa, and other emerging markets has exhibited better performance compared to the overall trade situation. In the first three quarters, Hunan's import and export to the BRI countries valued at 243.18 billion CNY, up 0.7% and accounting for 52.6% of the provincial total. The province witnessed 142.63 billion CNY of foreign trade value to the RCEP countries, a decline of 10% and accounting for 30.9%. Its foreign trade with Africa totaled 40.92 billion CNY, growing by 1.8% and accounting for 8.9%.

There was gradual improvement in the mix of imports and exports. The exports of construction machinery and the "three new" products of electric passenger vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar batteries, and imports of agricultural products saw faster growth rates. Private enterprises became the main force of foreign trade and comprehensive bonded zones achieved faster progress. The processing trade sector continued to grow against the headwinds and the general trade accounted for more than 80% of the total.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn