Countdown to US-China Tariff Exemption as China's Trade Faces Negative Growth
The US-China tariff exemption period is reaching a critical point, drawing global attention to the future of the trade conflict. During a press conference by the Chinese State Council, Customs Deputy Director Wang Lingjun presented the overall trade data for the first half of the year, indicating that China's total import and export value reached 21.79 trillion yuan, marking a year-on-year growth of 2.9%. Exports accounted for 13 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.2%, while imports fell to 8.79 trillion yuan, a decrease of 2.7%.
Wang criticized certain countries for imposing tariffs that violate international trade rules, posing severe challenges to global economic development and prompting various international organizations to lower their projected trade growth rates. This echoes previous statements from China's Ministry of Commerce, implying that the U.S. is a 'destroyer' of global economic stability. As for the negative growth observed in China's import and export data, Customs spokesman and Statistical Analysis Division Director Lv Daliang explained that China, as a major importer of commodities, saw significant price drops in crude oil, iron ore, and soybeans, which collectively reduced the overall import growth rate by 2.7 percentage points.
Moreover, consumer demand is being stimulated by policies to promote consumption, leading to increased total retail sales of consumer goods in the first five months of this year. Premier Li Qiang previously stated at the recently concluded Summer Davos Forum that China aims to build a vision of becoming a 'super consumption nation.'
In terms of US-China trade, the total import-export value between China and the US is 2.08 trillion yuan, reflecting a year-on-year decrease of 9.3%. Despite the challenges posed by tariffs, China's cross-border e-commerce saw imports and exports of approximately 1.32 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, marking a growth of 5.7%. Meanwhile, trade between China and Europe has expanded significantly, paving the way for the upcoming China-EU Trade Summit.
