According to Shenzhen Customs, in the first two months of this year, Shenzhen's import and export of goods was 603.7 billion yuan, down 10.4% year-on-year (the same below); among them, exports were 367.33 billion yuan, down 16.6%, and the scale continued to rank first among mainland foreign trade cities; imports were 236.37 billion yuan, up 1.1%, and the growth rate was better than the national level. From the data, in the face of factors such as the US imposing tariffs on Chinese goods, Shenzhen's import and export, export, and import scale in the first two months were at the second highest level in the same period in history, showing strong resilience. However, due to the two year-on-year "declines", many people are also worried.

In this regard, Cao Zhongxiong, assistant to the president of the China (Shenzhen) Institute for Comprehensive Development and director of the Institute of Digital Economy and Global Strategy, said that overall, the data for the first two months showed that foreign trade remained resilient. The peak adjustment of foreign trade in the face of various pressures was the result of the superposition of various international and domestic policies. Imports and exports, especially exports, are inevitably adjusted due to the impact of US tariffs and various trade measures from other countries. Regarding the view that "the foreign trade data for the first two months is not very good", he said, "It is wrong." Chinese products remain competitive in the world. At the same time, the fundamentals of China's comprehensive cost advantage have not changed. In the Trump 2.0 era, the impact of force majeure events such as tariff shocks and geopolitics is objective. But the competition among Chinese companies is still there, and Chinese companies will hedge and respond according to various policy adjustments. "

In fact, the data is not without highlights. First, in the first two months, Shenzhen's import and export, export and import scales were at the second highest level in the same period in history. Cao Zhongxiong analyzed the factors behind it. On the one hand, Shenzhen's product competitiveness advantage is the most important factor in ensuring export growth. Secondly, Shenzhen's perfect import and export industry ecology guarantees Shenzhen's advantages in exports. Thirdly, Shenzhen has long attached importance to foreign trade exports and policy support in related fields.

In addition, a series of potentials are becoming increasingly prominent.

First, the innovation strength of private enterprises has been revealed, and foreign-invested enterprises have increased slightly. In the first two months, the number of private enterprises in Shenzhen with import and export performance exceeded 29,000, an increase of 5.2%, with a total import and export of 409.27 billion yuan, a decrease of 15.1%, accounting for 67.8% of Shenzhen's total import and export value in the same period (the same below). Among them, the import and export of high-tech products was 105.9 billion yuan, accounting for 25.9% of the total import and export value of private enterprises in Shenzhen, an increase of 3.4 percentage points. During the same period, foreign-invested enterprises imported and exported 164.69 billion yuan, an increase of 3.5%, accounting for 27.3%.

Second, the export of superior electronic products has been growing steadily, and the new quality productivity has injected stronger impetus into the development of foreign trade. Benefiting from the increased demand in the terminal application market, the export of computer parts and integrated circuits was 31 billion yuan and 28.12 billion yuan, respectively, up 31.4% and 8.7%, respectively; the export of "new three" products such as lithium batteries, electric vehicles, and photovoltaic products was 14.74 billion yuan, up 47.9%. In addition, the new quality productivity has developed rapidly, and the export of emerging industry-related products has increased significantly. The export of digital cameras and medical equipment has increased rapidly by 46.1% and 8.3%, respectively, accounting for 60.4% and 21.8% of the national exports of similar products, and the scale ranks first among the mainland foreign trade cities.

Third, technological upgrades have led to an increase in demand for imports of some electronic intermediate products. With the accelerated innovation and widespread application of artificial intelligence and big data technologies, the import of core components has grown rapidly, empowering subsequent production and exports. In the first two months, Shenzhen imported 190.39 billion yuan of mechanical and electrical products, an increase of 11.6%, accounting for 80.5% of Shenzhen's total imports during the same period. Among them, imports of integrated circuits were 104.6 billion yuan, an increase of 7.4%; imports of computer parts were 39.94 billion yuan, an increase of 106.2%. During the same period, domestic consumer demand has steadily increased, driving the rapid growth of imports of related commodities. Among them, imports of agricultural products including aquatic products and dairy products were 20.49 billion yuan, an increase of 2.4%; and imports of cosmetics increased by 88.7%.

Cao Zhongxiong said that in Shenzhen's industrial structure, the trade of intermediate products dominated by high added value has shown new characteristics of Shenzhen's exports in recent years. With the development of labor-intensive industries, especially the processing trade of imported materials from other countries, Shenzhen's export trade of intermediate products has grown. At the same time, the "new three" of new energy are still an important force for growth. From the perspective of growth, we should continue to attach importance to the cultivation of new quality productivity of foreign trade products and industries, and inject more momentum of new quality productivity to ensure the sustainability of Shenzhen's export growth in the future. (Cover photo by Huang Lu, a reporter from Southern Metropolis Daily, from Yantian Port Group)