CGTN – China’s total imports and exports expanded 4.7 percent year on year to 16.77 trillion yuan in the first five months of 2023, official data showed Wednesday.

Exports grew 8.1 percent year on year while imports rose 0.5 percent in the first five months, it added.

In U.S. dollar terms, total foreign trade came in at $2.44 trillion in the period, down 2.8 percent year on year, according to the General Administration of Customs.

In May alone, foreign trade increased 0.5 percent year on year.

China’s imports and exports to ASEAN and the EU increased. In the first five months of 2023, ASEAN was China’s largest trading partner, with a total trade value at 2.59 trillion yuan, accounting for 15.4 percent of China’s total foreign trade.

Also, in the first five months, the import and export of private enterprises reached 8.86 trillion yuan, accounting for 52.8 percent of China’s total foreign trade value.

Exports of mechanical and electrical products and labor-intensive products both increased. In the first five months, China exported 5.57 trillion yuan of mechanical and electrical products, accounting for 57.9 percent of the total export value.