Labor-intensive industries witness strong progress in the region
An unexpected sharp increase in foreign trade in the eastern coastal region in January, though lower than the national average, showed that traditional labor-intensive industries are regaining vitality.
The total import and export value of Shanghai, the region's trade hub, rose by 11.9 percent to reach $68.37 billion in January, according to statistics from the Shanghai Customs District on Sunday. Export value was $43.15 billion, up 6.3 percent.
Figures from the Hangzhou Customs District show the total foreign trade value for Zhejiang province, home to many small and medium-sized companies, reached 186.2 billion yuan ($29.6 billion) in January, up 12.2 percent year-on-year, after adjustment for exchange rate fluctuations. Exports rose 10.3 percent to reach 138.7 billion yuan.
Privately owned companies saw robust growth in January, reaching a total foreign trade value of $18.36 billion, up 20 percent year-on-year, comprising 62 percent of the province's total foreign trade.
China's total foreign trade rose 26.7 percent year-on-year in January to 2.17 trillion yuan, up from 10.2 percent growth in December, according to the General Administration of Customs on Friday. The country's exports rose 25 percent from a year earlier to 1.18 trillion yuan last month.
Li Huiyong, chief analyst at Shanghai-based SWS Research Co Ltd, said: "The export manager index has been picking up for two months. The number of companies that have negative outlooks on exports in the next two or three months have dropped to 40 percent.
"Together with the statistics in the first month, it can be predicted that China's foreign trade will keep growing in the first quarter. As global economic growth is expected to pick up slightly in 2013, exports will in turn rebound."
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