ASEAN China's top trade partner, EU 2nd, US 3rd

China-ASEAN trade totalled 1.84 trillion yuan ($274.5 billion) from January to April, up 7.2 per cent year-on-year.

And in the first quarter of 2022, China’s imports and exports with ASEAN reached 1.35 trillion yuan, up 8.4 per cent year-on-year and accounting for 14.4 per cent of China’s total foreign trade. In the first two months of this year, ASEAN lagged behind the EU by about 3 billion yuan, temporarily becoming China’s second-largest trading partner.

Analysts said that ASEAN's return as China’s largest trade partner shows that China-ASEAN economic and trade relations still enjoy significant vitality and strong resilience. The RCEP, effective from January 1 this year, will release more dividends to China-ASEAN trade in the future.

ASEAN became China’s largest trading partner in 2020 for the first time, while China has been ASEAN's largest trade partner for 13 consecutive years since 2009.

China’s foreign trade with the EU reached 1.73 trillion yuan in the first four months, up 6.8 per cent on a yearly basis. China-US trade totalled 1.56 trillion yuan, up 8.7 per cent year-on-year and China’s trade with South Korea reached 764.92 billion yuan, up 8.4 per cent year-on-year.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)