CBN丨China's foreign trade returns to growth

Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.

大家好，我是主持人李莹亮。

Coming up on today’s program.

(资料图片)

重点提要 

China's foreign trade volume jumps 4.8% in Q1 despite global volatilities;

Sinopec acquires 1.25% stake in QatarEnergy's gas field, the world’s largest LNG project.

Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours 

中国经济要闻

China's total goods imports and exports expanded 4.8 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2023, reversing a decline of 0.8 percent in the first two months of the year, official data showed Thursday.

After dropping 7 percent year on year in January due to the Spring Festival holiday, it recovered to an expansion of 8 percent in February before surging 15.5 percent in March. Total exports soared 14.8 percent last month, marking the first increase in five months, while falls in imports narrowed by 8.8 points to 1.4 percent, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

In the first three months, exports grew 8.4 percent year on year to 5.65 trillion yuan, while imports rose 0.2 percent to 4.24 trillion yuan, bringing the total trade to 9.89 trillion yuan.

"China's foreign trade has displayed resilience in the first quarter. The steady growth laid a foundation for promoting stability and improving quality of foreign trade throughout the year," said Lyu Daliang, an official with the GAC.

During this period, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remained China's largest trade partner. China's trade with ASEAN countries rose 16.1 percent year on year, 11.3 percentage points higher than the country's overall trade growth rate.

Trade with countries along the Belt and Road jumped 16.8 percent year on year, while that with other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership grew 7.3 percent during this period.

New drivers are taking hold, as China saw a 66.9-percent increase in the exports of three green products, namely solar batteries, lithium-ion batteries, and electric vehicles. These three products contributed 2 percentage points to the overall export growth in the first quarter.

Looking ahead, China's foreign trade development may face greater difficulties and challenges, Lyu said, as the weak demand caused by global inflation and major economies' sluggish growth this year will have direct impact on China's foreign trade.

随着国内疫情平稳转段，2023年以来中国出口表现逐月回升，3月结束了此前连续五个月的下降态势，同比实现两位数高增长。

海关总署4月13日公布的数据显示，以美元计，3月出口同比增长14.8%，较1-2月加快21.6个百分点，为2022年8月以来最高；当月进口同比下降1.4%，降幅收窄8.8个百分点；当月实现贸易顺差881.9亿美元。 以人民币计，3月出口同比增长23.4%，高于1-2月22.5个百分点；进口同比增长6.1%，增速回升9.0个百分点；实现贸易顺差6010.1亿元。

一季度，我国货物贸易进出口总值9.89万亿元人民币，同比增长4.8%。其中，出口5.65万亿元，同比增长8.4%；进口4.24万亿元，同比增长0.2%。一季度我国外贸进出口展现了较强韧性，开局稳中向好，为全年实现外贸促稳提质打下了基础。

一季度进出口增速逐月提升。海关总署新闻发言人、统计分析司司长吕大良表示，今年1月份，受春节假期影响，进出口下降7%。2月“由负转正”，当月增长8%，3月同比增速提升到15.5%，呈现逐月向好态势。一季度整体增长4.8%，较去年四季度提速2.6个百分点，开局平稳向好。2月中下旬起，旬度的进出口同比保持正增长，带动整体增速由前两个月的微降转为增长，整体规模稳中有增。海关的业务数据也印证了这一点，3月份出口集装箱重箱同比增加10.5%，进口货运量增加20.3%。

外贸经营主体数量稳中有增。一季度，我国有进出口实绩外贸企业45.7万家，同比增长5.9%。其中，民营企业38.4万家，增加7.5%，进出口5.18万亿元，增长14.4%，占我国进出口总值的52.4%。同期，外商投资企业进出口3.04万亿元，国有企业进出口1.65万亿元，分别占进出口总值的30.7%和16.7%。

从具体产品中看，机电产品和劳动密集型产品出口均实现增长。一季度，我国机电产品出口3.27万亿元，同比增长7.6%，占出口总值的57.9%；其中，汽车、家用电器和蓄电池分别出口1474.7亿、1412.4亿和1163.4亿元，分别增长96.6%、3.2%和84.8%。

“外贸竞争的新优势、增长新动能不断培育壮大，对外贸整体稳中向好发挥了更为积极作用。”吕大良介绍，一季度我国对东盟、拉丁美洲和非洲等新兴市场进出口分别增长16.1%、11.7%、14.1%。规模合计占比提升2.4个百分点，达到28.4%。我们新优势产品表现十分亮眼，一季度电动载人汽车、锂电池、太阳能电池“新三样”产品合计出口增长66.9%，同比增量超过1000亿元，拉高了出口整体增速2个百分点，比去年的拉动力进一步增强。

此外，在进口方面，我国对能源产品、消费品等进口增长。一季度，我国原油、天然气和煤炭等能源产品，合计进口7587.2亿元，同比增长9.1%，占进口总值的17.9%。同期进口消费品4787.4亿元，增长6.9%；其中，肉类、食用水产品分别进口501.5亿和314.6亿元，分别增长了22.5%和21.9%。

“当前，全球通胀高企、主要经济体增长乏力带来的外需减弱，对我国外贸形成了直接冲击，同时保护主义、地缘政治等风险也进一步加大了全球经济的不稳定性、不确定性和难预期性，我国外贸发展将面临更大的困难和挑战。但也要看到我国经济韧性强、潜力大、活力足，长期向好的基本面依然不变，相信随着我国经济运行持续整体好转，外贸向好势头有望进一步延续。”吕大良说。

China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with Serbia's Minister of Domestic and Foreign Trade Tomislav Momirovic on Wednesday, jointly signing a memorandum of understanding to start negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, which will inject more momentum into deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

中塞签署启动自贸协定谈判备忘录：4月12日，商务部部长王文涛会见塞尔维亚国内和对外贸易部部长莫米洛维奇。双方就深化中塞经贸合作交换意见，共同签署启动两国自贸协定谈判的谅解备忘录。

China's "artificial sun" set a world record on Wednesday night by generating and maintaining extremely hot, highly confined plasma for nearly seven minutes. The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in the city of Hefei generated and sustained plasma for 403 seconds, breaking its previous record of 101 seconds in 2017 and marking another key step towards building high-efficiency, low-cost thermonuclear fusion reactors. "The main significance of this new breakthrough lies in its 'high-confinement mode', under which the temperature and density of the plasma increase significantly," said Song Yuntao, director of the Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which built EAST.

中国“人造太阳”再破世界纪录：4月12日21时，中国有“人造太阳”之称的全超导托卡马克核聚变实验装置（EAST）创造新的世界纪录，成功实现稳态高约束模式等离子体运行403秒，创造了托卡马克装置稳态高约束模运行新的世界纪录。此前的101秒世界纪录，也由EAST于2017年创造。 “这次突破的主要意义在于‘高约束模式’。”中科院合肥物质科学研究院副院长、等离子体物理研究所所长宋云涛说，高约束模式下粒子的温度、密度都大幅度提升，“这为提升未来聚变电站的发电效率，降低成本奠定了坚实物理基础。”

Moving on to regional highlights

区域观察

The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is scheduled to be held from April 18 to 27, the organizer announced on Thursday. With a total exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters, the expo is the first A-class international auto show to be held in China this year. Over 1,000 enterprises from all over the world have registered to participate in the auto show at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).  

上海车展将于18日开幕：2023第二十届上海国际汽车工业展览会将于2023年4月18日至27日在国家会展中心（上海）举行。2023上海车展共吸引了1000余家企业积极参展，展出总面积超过36万平方米。据介绍，2023上海车展继续吸引到海内外主流汽车品牌高规格参展，将成为今年全球第一场A级车展备受全球汽车行业瞩目。 

Greater Bay Area, Greater future

新使命，大未来

Hong Kong inaugurated InnoEX on Wednesday in a push to strengthen inter-regional cooperation in the innovation and technology industry. InnoEX is one the flagship events of “Business of Innovation and Technology Week”, co-organized by the SAR government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The four-day physical showpiece runs from April 12 to 15, while the exhibition’s online business matching platform Click2Match operates from April 12 to 22. InnoEX is jointly organized along with Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring Edition) and the Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Spring Edition), drawing more than 2,900 exhibitors from 20 countries and regions.

首届香港国际创科展开幕：由香港特别行政区政府与香港贸易发展局合办的首届“香港国际创科展 (InnoEX) ”，连同香港贸发局的“香港春季电子产品展”和“香港国际春季灯饰展”，三大科技展4月12日于香港会议展览中心揭幕。三项展览合共吸引逾2900家来自香港、中国内地、亚洲、欧美等20个国家和地区的展商参与。三大科技展以“智慧生活 联系世界”为主题，以“展览+”的在线、线下融合模式举行，除了连续4天的实体展，到22日前全球的展商、业界人士和买家也可同时通过“商对易”（Click2Match）智能商贸配对平台进行洽商。

Next on industry and company news

产业及公司新闻

China's top energy authority vowed to further enhance the nation's energy security by maintaining annual domestic oil output at over 200 million tons and deepening energy cooperation with Russia. The National Energy Administration (NEA) will further safeguard China's energy supply by maintaining the domestic crude oil output at over 200 million tons each year, and keep a natural gas self-sufficiency rate of no less than 50 percent, head of the NEA said Wednesday. As China continues to strengthen the role of coal power as a major support in the energy structure, it will increase the clean energy utility rate by one percentage point each year in the next five years, and to lift the proportion of non-fossil energy power in newly generated power to 80 percent as of 2035, the NEA said.

确保国内原油产量长期稳定在2亿吨水平：4月12日，国家能源局局长章建华在发布会上表示，立足我国资源禀赋，坚持先立后破。增强化石能源兜底保障能力，发挥好煤炭“压舱石”作用，加大油气勘探开发和增储上产，确保国内原油产量长期稳定在2亿吨水平，天然气自给率不低于50%。强化煤电支撑性调节性作用。风电、光伏发电量占全社会用电量的比重达到15.3%，风电、光伏装机增加1.6亿千瓦左右。章建华表示，要加快推进能源消费方式变革，重点实现“三个转变”，包括能源结构转变、能源系统和形态转变、能源空间布局转变。力争未来五年，非化石能源消费比重年均增长1个百分点；到2035年，新增电量80%来自非化石能源发电；本世纪中叶，非化石能源成为主体能源。

Sinopec, China's biggest oil refiner, said it signed an agreement with QatarEnergy on Wednesday to acquire a 1.25 percent stake in the latter's North Field expansion project. With a total investment of US$28.75 billion, the expansion project is the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project and is expected to begin production in 2026.  

中石化入股卡塔尔LNG项目：4月12日，中国石化与卡塔尔能源公司当天在卡塔尔首都多哈签署了北部气田东部扩建项目（NFE）参股协议。这是液化天然气行业史上最大规模的单一项目。根据协议，卡塔尔能源公司将向中国石化转让NFE项目1.25%的股份。这是双方继去年签署史上最长购气协议后的又一重大节点，标志着双方在该项目上实现了一体化合作。

China's leading agricultural and food company COFCO Corporation has invested over US$2.3 billion in Brazil since 2014, according to data released by the company. COFCO Corporation has become one of Brazil's major exporters and processors of corn, soybeans and raw sugar. In 2022, the company sold 33 million tons of agricultural products in Brazil and recorded a sales revenue of US$5.4 billion. For the past three years, COFCO has imported 34 million tons of agricultural products from Brazil, with a total import value of US$19 billion.

中粮在巴西累计投资逾23亿美元：中粮集团12日发布数据显示，自2014年进入巴西以来，中粮集团已累计投资超23亿美元。2022年，中粮集团在巴西农产品年销量3300万吨、销售额54亿美元，成为巴西玉米、大豆、原糖等主要出口商或加工商之一。近三年来，中粮集团从巴西累计进口农产品3400万吨，进口总金额190亿美元，并保持着增长态势。

Tesla will from Saturday cut the prices for certain models in Hong Kong by up to 15 percent, following similar moves in China, the United States and Europe. The largest reduction will be offered for the Model 3 Performance, with the price set to drop 14.7 percent and start at HK$440,335 under the "one-for-one replacement" scheme, while the long-range version will follow with an 11 percent cut. The scheme was launched by the Hong Kong government to encourage private car owners to switch to electric vehicles by offering higher tax concessions. Prices of two versions of Model Y will also be slashed by 9 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively.

特斯拉香港最高直降14.7%：4月12日，特斯拉香港宣布将于4月15日调整Model 3和Model Y的售价。本次价格调整减幅最大的是Model 3 Performance，“一换一”价格由440,335港元起，减幅达14.7%，其次是Model 3长续航版本，“一换一”价格为399,485港元，减幅为11.06%。至于Model Y长续航版本及Performance版本分别亦将降价8.7%及9.03%，至459,685港元起及487,205港元起。特斯拉香港地区官网显示，根据“一换一”计划，车主可以透过简单步骤，选择拆毁及取消登记其合乎申请资格的旧私家车，去换取全新特斯拉，即可享有上限为25万港元的首次登记税宽减额。

Tencent Holdings’ stock price sank after Prosus, the Chinese internet giant’s largest shareholder, revealed plans that may lead to the global investment group further reducing its stake in the firm. Prosus will deposit an additional 96 million of Tencent shares it holds in certificate form into Hong Kong’s central clearing and settlement system this week, the unit of South African media giant Naspers said in a statement yesterday. 

腾讯大股东再减持：当地时间4月11日，腾讯大股东、南非Naspers集团荷兰子公司Prosus公告称，作为继续实施该公司回购计划的一部分，Prosus将在本周把持有的9600万股腾讯股票以认证形式存入香港中央结算系统，以使这些股票能够有序地在市场上交易。

Switching gears to financial news

金融市场消息

Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors, which are foreign investors licensed to buy Chinese yuan-denominated stocks on the mainland, held positions worth 196.4 billion yuan in 234 stocks as of the end of last year, according to the financial reports of listed companies. Over half of their investment portfolios by market value last year were in the biomedicine, electronics, non-banking finance and electrical equipment sectors. In the fourth quarter, they cut holdings in 56 stocks, increasing their holdings in 48, bought into 108 new ones and the rest they left unchanged from the third quarter.

QFII扎堆持仓四大行业：随着2022年年报陆续披露，QFII（合格境外机构投资者）持仓情况逐渐浮出水面。医药生物、电子、非银金融、电力设备行业的QFII持仓市值居前，占比超过一半。截至4月12日，年报数据显示，截至2022年末，QFII累计持有234只A股，持仓总市值约为1964亿元。减仓56只个股，新进108只个股，增持48只个股，其余股票持仓未有变动。

China's largest commercial bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), has processed the first cross-border yuan settlement in Brazil at its local branch there, Xinhua reported on Wednesday. In February, China and Brazil signed a memorandum of understanding to phase in the yuan clearing arrangement.

工银巴西成功办理首笔跨境人民币结算业务：当地时间4月11日消息，工银巴西已成功办理首笔跨境人民币结算业务，标志着该行在巴西市场的跨境人民币业务取得实质性进展。今年2月，中国人民银行授权工银巴西担任巴西境内的人民币清算行。在这笔业务中，工银巴西支持贸易双方成功实现直接使用人民币进行结算。

Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market

股市收盘情况

Chinese stocks fell on Thursday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite down 0.3 percent, while the Shenzhen Component sank 1.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index finished slightly higher by 0.2 percent, while the TECH index dipped 0.2 percent.

A股震荡下跌港股收涨：周四大盘全天震荡调整，三大指数均小幅下跌。截止收盘，截至收盘，沪指跌0.27%，深成指跌1.21%，创业板指跌0.97%。沪深两市今日成交额11369亿，较上个交易日放量47亿，连续第8个交易日突破1万亿元。港股低开高走，恒指收涨0.17％，而恒生科技指数跌0.17％。

Biz Word of the Day

财经词汇划重点

The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), internal designation HT-7U (Hefei Tokamak 7 Upgrade), is an experimental superconducting tokamak magnetic fusion energy reactor in Hefei, China. It is the first tokamak to employ superconducting toroidal and poloidal magnets. It aims for plasma pulses of up to 1,000 seconds. The ultimate goal of EAST is to create nuclear fusion like the sun, using substances abundant in the sea to provide a steady stream of clean energy.

EAST装置是中国新一代可控核聚变研究装置，也是全球首个全超导非圆截面托卡马克核聚变实验装置，为国际上最重要的核聚变研究实验平台之一。EAST装置利用强磁场，把上亿摄氏度的等离子体长时间控制在真空容器里，并使核聚变反应稳定持续地进行。由于反应原理类似太阳内部的核聚变反应，因此被成为“人造太阳”。核聚变能源的原材料资源丰富，且无污染排放，因此可控核聚变被一直认为是人类解决能源问题的重要出路，视为人类“终极能源”。

Executive Editor: Sonia YU

Editor: LI Yanxia

Host: Stephanie LI

Writer: Stephanie LI 

Sound Editor: Stephanie LI

Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni

Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.

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策划、编辑：李艳霞 

播音：李莹亮

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