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China's Exports & Imports, 1952-2004
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An expanding trade
surplus
Before economic reforms began at the end of 1978, China conducted minimal trade with the outside world, exporting just enough raw materials and simple manufactured goods to cover payments for imports of strategic minerals and other necessities not available at home.
Deng Xiaoping's policy of opening up to the outside world produced a steady increase in China's trade with the rest of the world. During the 1980s, the value of imports exceeded that of exports as capital goods were brought in to equip manufacturing industry.
During the 1989-91 slowdown, demand for imports fell below that of exports, and China's external trade has since remained in surplus (except in 1993), resulting in the accumulation of a mountain of foreign exchange reserves.
In 2004, total two-way trade was valued at US$1.154.8 billion, an increase of 35.7% year on year. Merchandise exports rose 35.4% to US$593.4 billion while imports increased at almost the same rate, by 36%, to reach US$561.4 billion, leaving a trade surplus of US$32 billion, 25.3% higher than in 2003. While export growth remained buoyant as US consumption continued to expand, the manufacturing boom in China sucked in increasing quantities of production inputs, including fuels. |
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| Source for all statistics used in graphics on this page: China Statistical Yearbook, China Statistics Press, 1999; General Administration of Customs of the PRC, China's Customs Statistics. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
