Hubei posts steady growth in foreign trade despite tariff barriers

Central China's Hubei province has witnessed steady growth in foreign trade despite tariff barriers, maintaining a commitment to addressing external uncertainties through its own certainty of high-quality development, a local official has said.

"As a major economic powerhouse province in China, Hubei firmly adheres to the national strategic deployment, in which the domestic economic cycle plays a leading role while international economic cycle remains its extension and supplement," said Chen Huarong, an official from the Hubei Provincial Department of Commerce, in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei, on Thursday.

"The province remains unwavering in its efforts to expand openness and manage its own affairs, leveraging the certainty of its high-quality development to navigate the uncertainties of the external environment," he said.

These remarks were made during a group interview with Chinese and foreign journalists in response to a query from an overseas reporter regarding the province's strategy to sustain growth in the face of tariffs imposed by the United States.

Chen noted that during the recent Sino-US high-level economic and trade meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, the two sides have announced a series of tariff adjustment measures aimed at easing trade tensions. And the province has and will continue to take specific measures to actively respond to and support the steady growth of foreign trade.

"From January to April this year, Hubei saw a 27.5 percent year-on-year increase in its total import and export value, driven by a 36.6-percent growth in exports and an 8.4 percent rise in imports," Chen said. He added that Wuhan also exhibited impressive results in foreign trade import and export, registering a 27.5 percent surge during the same period, demonstrating the resilience of Hubei's economy.

"Hubei saw a positive growth in its imports and exports with 148 countries and regions worldwide from January to April. The province's primary foreign trade partners were ASEAN and the European Union, showing growth rates of 71.9 percent and 43.2 percent, respectively. And there is a 32.2 percent increase in Hubei's foreign trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative since the beginning of the year," he said, emphasizing the importance of the development of a diversified market in stabilizing and expanding foreign trade amid complicated international situation.

He pointed out that the China Import and Export Fair has played an increasingly important role in promoting Chinese enterprises — especially small and medium-sized ones — to explore new markets. About 535 enterprises of Hubei participated in the just-concluded 137th session, with export turnover increasing by 8.5 percent, marking Hubei's best performance in the sessions of recent years.

In terms of the imported and exported product categories, Hubei saw a notable 23.9 percent increase in the export of machinery and electronic goods from January to April, representing 51 percent of the total export value. High-tech product exports also grew by 18.3 percent, with significant boosts observed in mobile phones (over 20 percent increase) and automotive parts (over 24 percent rise).

This indicated that technological advancements and industrial innovation, coupled with the development of new quality productive forces, have established a robust foundation and enhanced the competitiveness of international cooperation in expanding openness and exports, Chen noted.

He also highlighted the significant role of cross-border e-commerce in driving the growth of foreign trade in Hubei. He emphasized that empowering industries through cross-border e-commerce initiatives and establishing cross-border e-commerce industrial parks can effectively facilitate the international expansion of more foreign trade enterprises.

In addition, Hubei's consumer market holds enormous potential, as Chen stated.

"The total retail sales of consumer goods exceeded 2.5 trillion yuan ($347 billion) last year. From January to April this year, there was a year-on-year increase of 7.7 percent, indicating a wide domestic market demand also for foreign trade enterprises," he said.

The province has initiated a series of activities to help foreign trade enterprises connect with domestic demands. This initiative includes placing high-quality foreign trade products on the shelves of shopping malls, supermarkets and pedestrian streets, further promoting the integration of domestic and foreign trade, he added.