In dollar terms, China's exports grew by 14.7% in March. Although the growth rate was lower than that of 16.3% in the previous two months, it was faster than the market expected growth rate of 12.8%. In March, export growth maintained a rapid growth, mainly due to the expansion of the economies of major global economies, driving China's foreign demand to remain strong
In dollar terms, the import growth rate in March fell sharply to - 0.1% from 15.5% in the previous two months, which was also lower than the market expected growth of 8.4%. The sharp drop in imports in March was mainly due to the weak domestic demand caused by the large-scale outbreak of covid-19 epidemic and the high base effect
Due to the decline in imports in March, the trade surplus in March remained at a high level of US $47.4 billion, much higher than the US $21.7 billion expected by the market. Due to the high trade surplus recorded in the first two months, the trade surplus in the first quarter of this year reached US $162.9 billion, an increase of 39.9% over the same period last year, indicating that the net export of goods and services in the first quarter can bring positive support to economic growth and the RMB exchange rate.
Looking forward to the future, the entry into force of RECP will bring significant help to the trade between China and Asian economies, especially Japan, this year. However, the geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine will further disrupt the global supply chain and the road of economic recovery, promote the rise of commodity prices, and aggravate the rising risk of global inflation again. Therefore, there are indeed many uncertain and unstable factors in China's foreign trade this year. Due to the high base effect in 2021, the growth rate of import and export this year will slow down compared with last year. We expect China's exports and imports to grow by 8.0% and 6.0% respectively in 2022
In dollar terms, China's exports grew by 14.7% in March. Although the growth rate was lower than that of 16.3% in the previous two months, it was faster than the market expected growth rate of 12.8%. In March, export growth maintained a rapid growth, mainly due to the expansion of the economies of major global economies, driving China's foreign demand to remain strong. Data show that in March, the manufacturing PMI of the United States, the euro zone and Japan remained high at 58.8, 56.5 and 54.1 respectively, which will undoubtedly help the export of Chinese goods. In addition, the rise in global inflation has also led to an increase in the amount of China's commodity exports. It is worth noting that China's exports maintained rapid growth under the high base effect last year, reflecting the strong resilience of China's exports. In March 2021, China's export growth rate in dollar terms reached 30.4%. In addition, in dollar terms, China's export growth reached 15.8% in the first quarter of this year.
In March, China's exports to the top five export regions, ASEAN, the European Union, the United States, Hong Kong and Japan increased by 10.4%, 21.4%, 22.4%, - 21.9% and 9.7% respectively. It can be seen that China's exports to major export markets, except Hong Kong, basically maintained rapid growth. The sharp drop in exports to Hong Kong was mainly due to the significant deterioration of covid-19 epidemic in Hong Kong in March. It is worth noting that the export of epidemic prevention related products still maintained a rapid growth in March. The export growth rate of plastic products in March was 20.8%, and the export growth rate of textile yarn, fabric and products was 22.2%. In March, the exports of clothing, toys, computers and mobile phones increased by 10.5%, 13.8%, 9.8% and 14.4% respectively. In addition, the export growth rate of integrated circuits fell to 15.5% in March from 27.3% in the first two months.
In dollar terms, the import growth rate in March fell sharply to - 0.1% from 15.5% in the previous two months, which was also lower than the market expected growth of 8.4%. The sharp drop in imports in March was mainly due to the weak domestic demand caused by the large-scale outbreak of covid-19 epidemic and the high base effect. Excluding the influence of price factors, in terms of import volume, the import growth rate of major commodities recorded a decline in March, reflecting that China's demand fell significantly due to the impact of the epidemic. In March, the import volume of crude oil, iron ore and its concentrate, integrated circuit, soybean and grain decreased by 14.0%, 14.5%, 17.9%, 18.2% and 5.6% respectively. In addition, in dollar terms, China's import growth reached 9.6% in the first quarter of this year.
Due to the decline in imports in March, the trade surplus in March remained at a high level of US $47.4 billion, much higher than the US $21.7 billion expected by the market. Due to the high trade surplus recorded in the first two months, the trade surplus in the first quarter of this year reached US $162.9 billion, an increase of 39.9% over the same period last year, indicating that the net export of goods and services in the first quarter can bring positive support to economic growth and the RMB exchange rate.
Looking forward to the future, the entry into force of RECP will bring significant help to the trade between China and Asian economies, especially Japan, this year. However, the geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine will further disrupt the global supply chain and the road of economic recovery, promote the rise of commodity prices, and aggravate the rising risk of global inflation again. Therefore, there are indeed many uncertain and unstable factors in China's foreign trade this year. Due to the high base effect in 2021, the growth rate of import and export this year will slow down compared with last year. We expect that China's exports and imports will grow by 8.0% and 6.0% respectively in 2022, and the growth rate of overall exports and imports may be high before and low after.
