China’s March exports increased 21.3 per cent year-on-year. Foreign trade remained stable in the first quarter. This is directly related to the stabilization of the domestic economy. In 2018, private enterprises contributed more than 50 per cent to China’s import and export growth. In the first quarter of this year, private enterprises played an increasingly prominent role in promoting China’s foreign trade. The total import and export volume of China’s private enterprises in the first quarter increased 9.9 per cent over the same period last year. Private enterprises account for 40.6 per cent of China’s total foreign trade. 

Another manifestation of China’s foreign trade and even the whole Chinese economy in improving quality and efficiency is the increasing competitiveness of products with high technological level and added value, such as automobiles and mobile phones. The export volume of mechanical and electrical products accounts for 60 per cent of China's total exports, more than three times as much as that of clothing, textiles and other labor-intensive products.

Though the growth rate of China’s foreign trade in the first quarter was lower than that in the same period last year, it has been achieved at a time when global trade is in a downturn and trade frictions continue.