Amidst The Looming Threat Of COVID-19, China’s Imports Grow Positively

China is one economy that has been booming amidst the looming threat that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused to economies globally. It is the only major economy to have expanded in 2020.

This has given hope to other economies and global businesses that are still struggling from the impact of the pandemic.

China’s initial steps to effectively prevent the epidemic helped its trade to stabilize.

China experienced a V-shaped recovery, where it saw contraction for a while followed by expansion. Such a recovery has significantly helped the world economy.

Analysts had expected Japan’s economy to shrink in the current quarter, however reports suggest something else. Reports earlier this week indicated growth in a range of sectors across the country. LianheZaobao, a Singaporean news outlet reported that Chinese demand benefited Japan’s exports.

Japan saw a fall of 1.6% in its exports to the EU in January as opposed to its exports this month last year. Similarly, its exports to the US dropped by 4.8%, according to media reports from Japan. However, exports to China rose by 37.5% and this has been the biggest increase since April 2010.

Data from the EU showed that China outperformed the US and became the largest partner of the trading bloc. Last year, trade between the China and EU surpassed 586 billion euros (approximately $707 billion). Out of this, EU exports to China were 202.5 billion euros, showing an increase of 2.2%.

An increase in China’s imports reflected the country’s effective control of the virus coupled with immediate government support, stabilizing international trade in trying times.

According to Bai Ming, China’s imports are seeing a rise due to the successful hosting of the China International Import Expo. He added that a decrease in import tariffs along with improvement of customs clearance techniques have also aided this positive trade trend. Bai Ming holds the office of deputy director of the Ministry of Commerce’s International Market Research Institute in China.

The 3rd China International Import Expo ended with transactions of $72.62 billion, in November 2020. This amounted to an increase of 2.1% as compared to 2019.

According to China customs China has further simplified the requirement for trade documents and the number of regulatory documents. The regulatory documents required for verification of trade applications were reduced from 86 to 41 last year. Furthermore, out of these 41 documents, 38 kinds of applications can now be made online.

Plenty of opportunities have been opened for China’s trading partners owing to its rapid economic recovery.

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership that was signed last year will also grow China’s export market space, and strengthen the local supply chain.

By cutting duties over 10 years, the partnership will ultimately prompt zero tariffs among the member countries, on 90% of trade in goods.

Given the current figures, it is expected that the Imports will continue to pick up this year. This shall aid China’s share or world trade to reach a new high.