BEIJING: China’s exports rebounded vigorously in May, highlighting the nation’s resilience in foreign trade.

       The sector is expected to expand steadily in the months ahead, given the effect of supportive policy measures that have been put in place to bolster the economy, industry experts and analysts said.

       Stable growth in foreign trade will help shore up the overall economic outlook and market confidence, making the country more attractive to foreign investors, they said.

       The nation’s exports in May beat expectations by jumping 15.3% year-on-year to 1.98 trillion yuan (US$300bil or RM1.3 trillion), while imports rose 2.8% to 1.47 trillion yuan (RM964bil), according to customs data.

       The total value of China’s imports and exports in May reached 3.45 trillion yuan (RM2.3 trillion), up 9.6% year-on-year, lifting the trade value for the first five months to 16.04 trillion yuan (RM10.5 trillion), or 8.3% higher than a year ago.

       “The strong foreign trade performance in May was mostly attributable to reining in the resurgence of domestic Covid-19 cases, which enabled improvements in logistics and an acceleration of product production and shipments,” said Gao Lingyun, director of the international investment division of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ (CASS) Institute of World Economics and Politics.

       “The rising raw material prices and global inflation have contributed to the growth of trade value, but the influence was quite limited compared with the strong rebound in exports,” he said.

       He added that China’s foreign trade will continue to expand and upgrade, as policies recently released to strengthen the sector need some time to deliver their full effect this year.

       Chairing a State Council executive meeting last Wednesday, Premier Li Keqiang pledged measures to further stabilise foreign trade and investment, and promote further opening-up of the country.

       He also called for the removal of obstacles and improvement of support measures to fully leverage the impact of policies on the economy.

       Starting in March, China has withstood the most challenging test yet in the fight against Covid-19, as domestic cases erupted in various places including the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions, its major manufacturing and export hubs.

       The nation’s exports increased just 3.9% year-on-year in April, the lowest rate of growth for the sector since June 2020, which stood at 4.3%. In March, exports expanded 14.7%. — China Daily/ANN