China's business involvement with nations forming the Belt and Road Initiative has resulted in solid growth last year, proof of the country's strength during times of economic uncertainty, latest data indicated Tuesday.
Commercial collaborations with BRI member states totaled 9.29 trillion yuan (around $1.34 trillion) in 2019, up 10.8 percent year-on-year, surpassing China's total trade rally by 7.4 percent, the General Administration of Customs reported.
The total volume of trade between China and BRI countries reached 44 trillion yuan in the 2014-2019 period, with an average annual growth of 6.1 percent.
China emerged as the biggest trading partner of 25 BRI nations, data from GAC revealed. The share of China's total trade with BRI countries reached 30 percent last year, up 2 percentage points from 2018.
GAC Vice Minister Zou Zhiwu stated that, on top of rapid growth with its major trading allies like the the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and European Union, China has also seen its imports and exports expand rapidly with the BRI countries and emerging markets in Africa and Latin America.
According to Zou, the Chinese economy has tremendous resilience, capacity and scope for maneuver. These positive attributes are the same in terms of the country's international trade, he added, identifying China's commercial partners as globally dispersed and "flowering in different regions."
Zou attributed the strong momentum of trade growth with the BRI countries to enhanced customs cooperation and business facilitation systems.
China has signed the world's most approved Economic Operator (AEO) agreements to promote customs clearance for companies. Of the 42 countries and regions that hold AEO agreements with China, 18 include BRI countries and regions, Zou stated.
The Chinese government has established seven easy customs clearance channels for agricultural products at the borders with BRI countries like Vietnam, Mongolia and Kazakhstan, and has facilitated the launching of the China-Europe railway network for mail service.
Zou also pointed out that in 2019, Chinese customs signed 198 inspection and quarantine cooperation agreements, 89 of which were with BRI countries and regions.
Meanwhile, South China's Guangdong Province, one of the country's economic powerhouses, projected its gross domestic products to grow by around 6.3 percent in 2019 to reach 10.5 trillion yuan (about $1.52 trillion).
Ma Xingrui, provincial governor, made the announcement Tuesday at the start of the Annual Provincial Legislative Session, when he delivered a government work paper.
Faced with external uncertainty in 2019, Guangdong, the country's leading foreign trade player, saw its imports and exports hit 7.14 trillion yuan, down 0.3 per cent year-on-year, the document showed.
