The growing number of empty containers piling at the ports reflected that the global market remains optimistic about China’s export capacity, a senior official from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said on Monday.
Yu Jianhua, head of GAC, noted that the increasing number of empty containers is a result of the excessive containers which were released to the market previously, the low cost of storing containers at Chinese ports, and the quick short-term return of empty containers after the easing of COVID-19 pandemic in the world.
Yu noted that a large number of empty containers are ready to move across Chinese ports, reflecting the international market remains positive about China’s export capability. Yu added that the official data showed the volume of containers has been continuously growing since middle February.
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In response to the concerns regarding the nation’s foreign trade figures, Yu said that the start of 2023 saw a stable market which trends towards a positive growth.
The country’s overall trade volume in the first two months this year surpassed 6 trillion yuan ($870 billion), beating expectations. Trade data for the last week of February grew by 15 percent compared to the previous week, and China’s overall performance in trade remains the best, if compared with some neighboring economies.
Trade momentum remains strong in the country. For instance, the combined exports of electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar panel cells surged more than 60 percent, while the trade for cross-border e-commerce increased by 15.8 percent, according to Yu.
However, Yu said that global trade has been negatively impacted by a spate of financial upheavals in some Western economies, geopolitical uncertainties caused by a certain country’s “decoupling” moves on top of elevated global inflation.
Despite the external challenges and complex factors, China has retained its overall competitiveness in foreign trade, and China’s economy is expected to regain impetus this year which will aid trade, said Yu, adding that the GAC is confident in achieving the set trade target for 2023.
Source: Global Times
