China's Import and Export Value Hits Record in December 2012

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources China (Beijing, China)--The import and export value of China hit a record $366.84 billion in December 2012, an increase of 10.2% from December 2011. The export value reached $199.23 billion, an increase of 14.1%, and the import value reached $167.61 billion, an increase of 6%; and the surplus for the month reached $31.62 billion, a jump of 91.8%, according to an announcement from the General Customs Administration of China on January 10, 2013.

In 2012, the accumulative import and export value of China reached $3.87 trillion, an increase of 6.2% from 2011. The export value reached $2.05 trillion, an increase of 7.9%; the import value reached $1.82 trillion, an increase of 4.3%; and the accumulative surplus reached $231.1 billion.

In 2012, China's import and export of cargo trade showed an overall slowdown in growth. Compared with the growth rate in 2011, the growth was 16.3 percentage points lower. In view of different seasons, the growth of the import and export value is showing a rebounding since it reached the bottom in the third quarter. The import and export value for the first to fourth quarters were $859.46 billion, $979.69 billion, $1 trillion and $1.02 trillion, an increase of 7.3%, 8.5%, 3% and 6.3%, from the same periods in 2011, respectively.

In 2012, the general trade in China reached $2 trillion, an increase of 4.4% from 2011. Of which, the export value reached $988.01 billion, up 7.7%; the import value reached $1.02 trillion, an increase of 1.4%; and the deficit under general trade reached $33.81 billion, a 62.6% decrease from 2011. In the same period, the import and export value of processing trade reached $1.34 trillion, an increase of 3% from 2011. The export value reached $862.78 billion, up 3.3%; the import value reached $481.17 billion, an increase of 2.4%; and the surplus under processing trade reached $381.61 billion, up 4.5%.

In 2012, the European Union remained the first trade partner with China, but the bilateral trade value declined to $546.04 billion, a drop of 3.7% from 2011, while the trade value with the U.S. reached $484.68 billion, an increase of 8.5%. The bilateral trade value with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reached $400.09 billion, a drop of 3.9%. The bilateral trade value with Japan reached $329.45 billion, a drop of 3.9%. In the same period, the bilateral trade value with Russia and Brazil reached $88.16 billion and $85.72 billion, an increase of 11.2% and 1.8% from 2011, respectively.

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