Foreign Trade Approaches US$2 Trillion in the First Nine Months      

On October 13th, 2008 the General Administration of Customs of China announced China's foreign trade in September 2008. The total import and export value was US$243.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 21.4%. The export value reached US$136.4 billion, up 21.5% year-on-year, and the import value was US$107.1 billion, up 21.3%. The monthly trade surplus was US$29.3 billion this September.
   In the first nine months of 2008, China's foreign trade amounted to US$1.97 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 25.2%, in which the export value increased 22.3% to US$1.07 billion while the import value was up 29% to US$893.1 billion. The total trade surplus was US$180.9 billion, a decrease of US$4.92 billion or 2.6% year-on-year.
   In the past nine months of 2008, the foreign trade by general trade mode rose 35.9% to US$956.6 billion, of which US$455.8 billion for import, up 47.3% year-on-year. The trade by mode of processing with supplied materials was US$803.4 billion, up 13.8% year-on-year.
   The European Union continued to be China's largest trade partner in the first nine months of 2008, with bilateral trade of US$322.5 billion, up 25.9% year-on-year. The USA ranked the second with bilateral trade of US$251.5 billion, up 13.8%. The third was Japan with bilateral trade of US$202.7 billion, up 17.8%. During this period, China had a trade deficit with Japan of US$31.05 billion, up 29.1%. The bilateral trade between China and India was US$42.05 billion, up 54.9%.
   The export value of mechanical and electric products was up 24% to US$617 billion in the previous nine months of 2008. The export value of plastic products was US$11.03 billion, up 1.6%.
   China exported 580 thousand tons of crude oil and 1.38 million tons of oil products in September. China accumulatively exported 2.8 million tons of crude oil and 12.3 million tons of oil products in the first nine months of 2008, down 11.3% and 3.7% respectively.
   Import value of primary products continues to go up, being US$294.2 billion in the first nine months of 2008, up 69.5%. The import value of chemicals and related products was US$95.2 billion in the past nine months of 2008, up 19.7%. China imported 310 thousand units of automobile in the previous nine months, up 45.2%.
   China imported 15.03 million tons of crude oil and 2.55 million tons of oil products this September, and totaling imported 135 million tons of crude oil and 31.28 million of oil products in the first nine months of 2008, up 8.8% and 16.5% respectively.