CCTV News:The General Administration of Customs recently announced that in the first quarter of 2024, China’s total import and export to the other 14 member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) was 3.08 trillion yuan, up 2.7%, accounting for 30.3% of China’s total import and export value of goods trade.
In the first quarter, China exported 1.6 trillion yuan to other RCEP member countries, an increase of 2%. Among them, the export of intermediate goods increased by 2.1%, accounting for 31.7% of the total export value of intermediate goods in China, and the export of electronic components and labor-intensive intermediate goods maintained double-digit rapid growth.
In the same period, China imported 1.48 trillion yuan from other RCEP member countries, an increase of 3.4%. Among them, the import of bulk commodities, mainly metal ores and energy products, increased by 2.8%, accounting for 42.3% of China’s total bulk commodity imports. The import and export of intermediate products fully illustrate the economic ties and cooperative relations among members in the region.
Our foreign trade enterprises enjoy RMB 24.69 billion in imports under RCEP.
In the first quarter, China’s foreign trade enterprises benefited from imports of 24.69 billion yuan under RCEP, involving tax concessions of 670 million yuan, up by 35.3% and 38.7% respectively, benefiting 4,320 enterprises.
In terms of export, 18,000 export enterprises applied for RCEP certificate of origin, involving a value of 63.94 billion yuan, up 2.6%. 729 approved exporters independently issued RCEP declaration of origin, involving a value of 2.41 billion yuan, an increase of 12.6%, which brought tangible benefits to enterprises.
In the first quarter, 4,541 trains were operated in China and Europe, a year-on-year increase of 9%.
The reporter learned from China State Railway Group Co.,Ltd. on April 14th that since 2024, the radiation range of China-Europe trains has been expanding, and the traffic volume has continued to grow strongly. In the first quarter, 4,541 trains were operated in China and Europe.
The data shows that in the first quarter, 4,541 trains were operated and 493,000 TEUs were delivered, up 9% and 10% respectively.
Behind the increase in traffic volume is the continuous expansion of the radiation range of China-Europe trains. Newly opened China-Europe train lines from Harbin to tilburg, the Netherlands, Shijiazhuang to Belgrade, and Qingdao to Moscow, Russia. Transport tests were carried out for China-Europe trains in Xi ‘an, Chongqing, Yiwu to Boji, Georgia, and Nantong Road in Istanbul, Turkey, and 6 China-Europe trains were operated through Nantong Road, up by 200% year-on-year.
At the same time, optimize the China-Europe train transportation organization and improve the port transportation capacity and customs clearance facilitation level. The traffic volume of the west, middle and east channels increased by 8%, 14% and 8% respectively. Among them, Alashankou and Horgos ports have more than 1,800 trains in Central Europe and Central Asia, and Erenhot port has 802 trains in and out of China and Europe.
The transportation quality of China-Europe trains has been continuously improved. During the whole timetable between Xi ‘an and Duisburg, Germany, and between Chengdu and Lodz, Poland, China-Europe trains run stably, with a total of 65 trains in the first quarter, and the number of China-Europe trains started in Xi ‘an in 2024 exceeded 1,000. By the end of March, China-Europe trains had accumulated over 87,000 trains, reaching 222 cities in 25 European countries.
400 kilometers per hour! The prototype of CR450 EMU will be rolled off the assembly line this year.
Since September 2017, the CR400 train of Fuxing China Standard EMU has been put into operation on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, with a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, setting a new benchmark for the operation speed of high-speed railway in the world. Now, the CR450 EMU with a speed of 400 kilometers per hour is stepping up its development, and the prototype car is planned to go offline during the year.
The development of CR450 EMU is another technological breakthrough based on the CR400 of Fuxing China Standard EMU, which was rolled off the assembly line in 2017. The train speed will be increased from 350 km/h to 400 km/h.
Since the CR450 Science and Technology Innovation Project was launched in 2021, 17 prototypes of new technology components have been developed successively. 57 scientific research experiments were carried out with CR400 comprehensive inspection train, which set a new record of 453 km/h for open train, 891 km/h for relative intersection and 840 km/h for tunnel intersection.
Foreign-funded institutions raise China’s economic forecast
Recently, Citibank raised its economic growth forecast for China, and Goldman Sachs recently published a research report saying that due to the strong performance of manufacturing industry, it raised its GDP growth forecast for the first quarter and the whole year of China.
The consumer market such as tourism is stable and positive.
For the economic "report card" in the first quarter, many experts said that the domestic tourism consumption data is remarkable, and all kinds of consumption are stable and positive.
Gao Ruidong, chief economist of Everbright Securities, said that the per capita tourism expenditure during the Qingming holiday exceeded the level of the same period in 2019 for the first time, and the domestic cross-regional traffic and the number of tourists during the holiday both achieved double-digit growth compared with 2019.
Wei Huilian, Asia-Pacific economist, investment director of UBS Wealth Management, said that further positive signals include that countries such as Thailand and Singapore have implemented more visa-free entry plans for China tourists, and the number of international flights booked during the Labor Day Golden Week holiday has increased.
Many experts have said that the "high-frequency indicators" they studied show that, whether macro or micro, not only tourism, but also all kinds of consumption are stable and positive.
Wen Tianna, president of Hong Kong Boda Capital International, said that residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have flocked to Greater Bay Area for consumption and shopping, and the overall retail sales of consumer goods have increased significantly.
Gao Ruidong, chief economist of Everbright Securities, said that in commodity consumption, the year-on-year growth rate of communication equipment and entertainment products was above double digits, which was mainly boosted by the increase in family visits and offline entertainment activities during the Spring Festival holiday. The year-on-year growth rate of automobiles and household appliances also picked up, mainly because automobile manufacturers and household appliance brands concentrated on price reduction and promotion activities at the beginning of the year.
Luo Zhiheng, chief economist of Yuekai Securities, said that the supply capacity of catering, tourism and accommodation industries has been continuously restored. With the improvement of the economic situation, some areas are issuing consumer vouchers, and residents’ spending power has improved.
On March 3rd, the passenger flow at Dongxing Port exceeded 100,000.
In Guangxi, with the coming of the "March 3rd" festival of Zhuang nationality, many foreign tourists come to Guangxi from neighboring Vietnam to experience and play. During the four-day holiday, the number of people entering and leaving Guangxi Dongxing Port exceeded 100,000.
From April 11th to 14th, dongxing city, which is separated from Mang Street by a river, ushered in the peak of passenger flow. According to the data provided by Dongxing Entry-Exit Frontier Inspection Station, during the four-day holiday on March 3rd in Guangxi, the number of people entering and leaving Dongxing Port reached 104,200, including 51,500 people leaving the country and 52,700 people entering the country. On the Sino-Vietnamese Friendship Bridge, many foreign tourists are waiting in line for inspection, and come to China from Vietnam to experience the "March 3rd".
In order to cope with the high-level passenger flow, Dongxing entry-exit frontier inspection station promptly increased police force, opened inspection channels in an orderly manner, and set up special channels such as foreign tour groups to guide passengers to wait for inspection in an orderly manner to ensure efficient customs clearance at the port.
The number and installed capacity of units under construction all remain the first in the world.
On April 15th, China Nuclear Energy Industry Association released the Blue Book of China Nuclear Energy Development Report 2024. Up to now, there are 26 nuclear power units under construction in China, with a total installed capacity of 30.3 million kilowatts, which continues to rank first in the world.
In 2023, China approved five new nuclear power projects and started five new nuclear power units. Nuclear power generation continues to grow, reaching 433.371 billion kWh in 2023, ranking second in the world.
A new record of repeated test runs of a single reusable rocket main engine.
The reporter learned from the Sixth Institute of Aerospace Science and Technology Group that the main engine that will be used in China’s reusable rockets in the future has recently completed the 15th repeated test of a single engine, with a cumulative ignition start of 30 times. This is the main engine of liquid rocket with the largest number of ignition tests in China, which lays the foundation for the first flight of reusable rockets in China.
In the first quarter, the export value of Nanjing Customs RCEP visa was nearly 8 billion yuan.
The reporter learned from Nanjing Customs that in the first quarter of 2024, the export value of Nanjing Customs RCEP visa was 7.925 billion yuan, ranking first in the country. It is estimated that qualified foreign trade enterprises can enjoy tariff concessions of 119 million yuan from other RCEP member countries, and the export goods mainly include clothing, chemicals, plastics and their products.