China's foreign trade up 0.4 pct in first 7 months

This aerial photo taken on July 22, 2023 shows a container wharf of the Beibu Gulf Port in Qinzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Cao Yiming)

BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's total imports and exports expanded 0.4 percent year on year to 23.55 trillion yuan (about 3.29 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first seven months of the year, official data showed Tuesday.

Exports grew 1.5 percent year on year to 13.47 trillion yuan, while imports declined 1.1 percent from a year earlier to 10.08 trillion yuan, according to the General Administration of Customs.

In July alone, foreign trade dropped 8.3 percent year on year, with exports down 9.2 percent and imports down 6.9 percent, the data showed.

In the January-July period, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remained China's largest trade partner. China's trade with ASEAN countries rose 2.8 percent year on year and accounted for 15.3 percent of the country's total trade value.

China's trade with the European Union edged down 0.1 percent from a year earlier, and the country's trade with the United States declined 9.6 percent year on year in the first seven months.

During this period, China's trade with countries along the Belt and Road amounted to 8.06 trillion yuan, which jumped 7.4 percent year on year.

Private enterprises saw imports and exports grow 6.7 percent year on year to 12.46 trillion yuan in the January-July period. The trade value represented 52.9 percent of the country's total.

The import and export value of foreign-funded enterprises and state-owned enterprises accounted for 30.6 percent and 16.2 percent of the country's total, respectively.

China saw steady export growth of mechanical and electrical products, such as data processing devices, cell phones, and automobiles during this period.

The trade value of mechanical and electrical products added up to 7.83 trillion yuan, rising 4.4 percent year and year and accounting for 58.1 percent of the country's total exports.