In April of this year, the global economy was in a state of turbulence, and the uncertainty of the external environment suddenly increased. As a major foreign trade province, Zhejiang’s economy has undergone an unprecedented “stress test”. On the just released Zhejiang Economic April “Report Card”, four words exude confidence: overall stability.
Thousands of tons and flavors, I believe every Zhejiang enterprise and individual who has survived will deeply feel it.
From January to April, Zhejiang’s foreign trade showed strong resilience, with a growth rate better than the national average. Specifically, from January to April, the total import and export volume of foreign trade in Zhejiang Province reached 1.75 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%. Among them, exports amounted to 1.31 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.7%; Imports amounted to 436.25 billion yuan, a decrease of 1.6%. The growth rates of imports and exports, exports, and imports are 4.2, 2.2, and 2.6 percentage points higher than the national average, respectively; The national shares are 12.4%, 15.6%, and 7.6% respectively, all of which have increased compared to the same period last year.
Compared with the first quarter data, although the growth rate of imports and exports in Zhejiang has slowed down, the growth rate is still higher than the national average, and the share is still increasing. Meanwhile, the decline in imports has further narrowed. The resilience of Zhejiang’s foreign trade can be seen from this one in and one out situation.
In such difficult times, it is the brave struggle of every Zhejiang foreign trade person that has created such a hard won good situation. They insist on diversifying their markets and simultaneously making efforts, putting their eggs in different baskets. From January to April, although exports to the United States were hindered, Zhejiang’s exports to emerging markets such as ASEAN, Latin America, and the Middle East showed strong momentum, with exports of 180.28 billion yuan, 145.06 billion yuan, and 123.01 billion yuan, respectively, increasing by 9.2%, 21.5%, and 10.4%.
Just like the recently popular “Yiwu boss ladies” who have been busy all over the internet, they are busy exploring emerging markets, creating new brands, expanding production capacity against the trend, and further exploring production cost advantages… It is these ordinary and resilient figures that support half of Zhejiang’s foreign trade.
Currently, with the significant reduction of bilateral tariff levels between China and the United States, it will be beneficial for the growth of bilateral trade and inject new impetus into the steady progress of Zhejiang’s foreign trade.
On the other side of foreign trade, production is connected. Industrial production is an important support for stable economic growth. In April, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size in Zhejiang increased by 6.3% year-on-year, consistently higher than the national average.
The trend of high-end industrial development is evident. In April, the added value of high-tech manufacturing above designated size, core digital economy manufacturing, equipment manufacturing, and strategic emerging industry manufacturing in Zhejiang increased by 13.9%, 12.4%, 10.0%, and 9.9% respectively, all higher than the growth rate of large-scale industries during the same period. This indicates that Zhejiang’s manufacturing industry is accelerating its transformation towards high-end, intelligent, and digital industries, laying a solid foundation for high-quality economic development.
The “two new” policies are intensifying efforts to expand the scope, promote industrial technological upgrading, and increase market demand. From January to April, investment in the purchase of equipment and tools in Zhejiang increased by 11.8%, with a growth rate 2.6 percentage points faster than the first quarter, driving a total investment growth of 1.1 percentage points. This not only improves the production efficiency of enterprises, but also provides strong impetus for the sustainable development of Zhejiang’s economy.
Overall, Zhejiang’s industrial production has maintained a sustained expansion trend, effectively stabilizing the economic fundamentals of Zhejiang.
Under the pressure of foreign trade, more attention has naturally been given to domestic demand. After all, the increasingly active and smooth domestic circulation is the most solid foundation for dealing with various external shocks and challenges.
In April, Zhejiang actively implemented and continued to promote the national strategy of expanding domestic demand, effectively expanding the domestic demand market. From the perspective of consumption, in April, the total retail sales of consumer goods in Zhejiang Province reached 282.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%. At the same time, from January to April, the total retail sales of consumer goods in Zhejiang Province reached 1.21 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.7%, indicating that consumption in Zhejiang is showing an accelerating trend.
The performance of quality of life consumption is particularly impressive. In April, the retail sales of computers and their supporting products, household appliances and audio-visual equipment, wearable smart devices, smartphones, new energy vehicles and other commodities in Zhejiang’s quota and above units increased by 1.9 times, 1.2 times, 1.2 times, 72.1% and 11.5% respectively. The trend of consumption upgrading is becoming increasingly evident, reflecting the improvement of income levels and the transformation of consumption concepts among residents in Zhejiang.
As early as mid March, Zhejiang Province issued the “Implementation Plan for Zhejiang Province’s Special Action to Vigorously Boost and Expand Consumption”, focusing on the issues that have received the most feedback, the strongest voices, and the strongest demand in the consumption field, and making precise efforts and full efforts to solve problems. I believe that with the continued effectiveness of policies and the growing momentum of consumption, the driving force of consumption on economic growth is expected to continue to strengthen.
From an investment perspective, overall investment has steadily increased. From January to April, fixed assets investment increased by 2.0% year on year, of which project investment increased by 11.7%. Since the beginning of this year, Zhejiang has adopted a progressive attitude of “running from the beginning” and has organized the commencement of major projects twice in a row. The main leaders of the four teams have gone deep into the front line of the projects to supervise and guide them. A total of 204 projects have been started, with a total investment of over 580 billion yuan, effectively stabilizing the pace of investment in Zhejiang.
The road ahead will not be so smooth. As Lan Jianping, Vice President of Zhejiang Development Planning Research Institute, said, looking ahead to the second quarter and the whole year, the uncertainty of the external environment may continue for some time. Zhejiang needs to face the new situation and conduct scientific research and analysis in specific risk exposure areas, and take decisive measures.
Zhejiang will continue to deepen the implementation of the special action plan for cross-border trade facilitation, accelerate the promotion of economic transformation and upgrading, and optimize the stability and expansion of foreign trade. On the one hand, we need to continue consolidating and expanding emerging markets, and reduce our dependence on a single market; On the other hand, we need to accelerate industrial upgrading, enhance product added value, and strengthen the core competitiveness of Zhejiang manufacturing.
In terms of domestic demand, Zhejiang should continue to play the fundamental role of consumption and the key role of investment, further optimize the business environment, stimulate the vitality of market entities, and promote high-quality economic development.
The resilience of the Zhejiang economy stems from the fighting spirit of the Zhejiang people, the innovative vitality of Zhejiang enterprises, and more importantly, the scientific decision-making and precise implementation of policies by the Zhejiang government. In the face of pressure, Zhejiang has never backed down; In the face of challenges, Zhejiang has always been forging ahead. I believe that with the joint efforts of all Zhejiang people, the economy of Zhejiang will surely usher in a better tomorrow.
