Imports, Exports Rise to Record HighsFor the first time, both China's imports and exports exceeded US$100 billion in the first six months of a year.China's exports surged 38.3 per cent to US$114.5 billion and imports rose 36.2 per cent to US$102.1 billion in the first half of this year, according to General Administration of Customs (GAC) statistics. The country's trade volume in the first six months, a total of US$216.6 billion with accumulative surplus of US$12.3 billion, reported a year-on-year increase of 37.3 per cent from the same period last year. Exports of steel, machinery, electronics, garments and furniture continued to rapidly increase. But the country's exports of some labour-intensive products such as clothes, shoes and toys fell below the overall increase rate of China's exports. China's imports of primary products such as oil, minerals, wood and paper surged 77 per cent in the first half year from the same period last year. But industrial products such as machinery, electronics, steel, textiles and chemical products still account for 80 per cent of China's imports. China imported US$81.4 billion industrial products in January-June, up 28.7 per cent from the same period last year. Analysts say international price surges have pushed up China's primary products import. The United States, Hong Kong, Japan and the European Union led China's exports in the first half year with about US$20 billion each. |
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