General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) announced that in the first three quarters of 2022, China’s imports and exports of mechanical and electrical products totaled US$2329.08 billion, 3.7 percent higher than a year prior, accounting for 49.0 percent of the merchandise trade. Besides, exports grew by 8.7 percent to US$1533.52 billion, and the proportion decreased from 59.0 percent in 2021 to 56.8 percent. Imports dropped by 4.8 percent to US$795.56 billion, and the proportion decreased from 42.4 percent to 38.7 percent. The trade balance of mechanical and electrical products expanded US$163.1 billion to US$737.95 billion in surplus.

In September, the exports of mechanical and electrical products grew by 6.0 percent year-on-year to US$190.67 billion, the highest monthly export value of the year by now, maintaining the positive growth for 28 consecutive months; Imports of mechanical and electrical products reached US$95.34 billion, which decreased by 7.5 percent year-on-year, the negative growth for the seventh consecutive month.

Exports of automatic data processing machines and parts thereof, integrated circuits, mobile phones, motor vehicles and other products increased year-on-year in Q3, while the exports of household appliances and lighting equipment decreased.

The global demand for electronic products including mobile phones, computers and other related products has decreased. In the first three quarters, the cumulative exports of automatic data processing machines and parts thereof reached US$181.02 billion, a slight increase of 0.9 percent year-on-year, but the exports growth has been negative for two consecutive months.

In the first three quarters, the shipments of mobile phones decreased by 9.9 percent to 620 million units, and the exports increased by 6.7 percent to US$102.74 billion. The sluggish demand has caused the shipment of mobile phone manufacturers to slow down. China's mobile phone shipment has decreased year-on-year for five consecutive quarters. In September, the new iPhone was released, which made the monthly exports increase by 23.2 percent to US$17.21 billion, reaching the highest monthly value in the year.

The sluggish demand in the consumer industry led enterprises to reduce chip inventory and stock up. In the first three quarters, the cumulative shipments of integrated circuits in China decreased by 10 percent, and the increase in average export price drove the cumulative exports to grow by 7.3 percent. By September, the export shipment and value of integrated circuits have decreased for seven consecutive and three consecutive months, respectively.

Driven by the growth of global demand for new energy vehicles, China's vehicle exports maintained a high boom. In the first three quarters, the exports of vehicle reached 2.263 million units to US$39.54 billion, with the export shipment and value increasing by 51.6 percent and 64.6 percent respectively, which has been increasing for 24 consecutive months. The cumulative exports of lithium-ion batteries totaled US$34.92 billion, up by 83.4 percent year-on-year.

The imports of automatic data processing machines and parts thereof, vehicles, machine-tools and other mechanical and electrical products decreased in Q3. The import volume of integrated circuits fell by12.8 percent, the tenth consecutive month of decline, while the import value driven by average export price and grew by 1.5 percent. Integrated circuits still maintain the single commodity with the highest imports in China with a share of 15.4 percent.

Data Source: www.customs.gov.cn