In the first quarter of 2024,despite numerous challenges facing the global economy,Shanghai’sdata revealed some optimistic signals,particularly in exports.According to Shanghai Customs statistics,the citystotal value reached 1.03 trillion yuan in Q1,marking a 1.1% decline year-on-year.However,exports bucked the trend with 1% growth to 410.6 billion yuan.This turnaround was mainly driven by strong export performance in March,which reached 144.75 billion yuan,up 2% year-on-year - particularly notable against the backdrop of a 3.8% decline in national exports.

On imports,Shanghais Q1 figures showed 622.19 billion yuan,down 2.5% year-on-year.Nevertheless,the trade deficit narrowed by 8.7% to 211.59 billion yuan.A closer look reveals ongoing optimization in Shanghais foreign trade structure.General trade remained stable with a marginal 0.02% increase to 621.93 billion yuan (exports up 3.5%,imports down 1.9%).Bonded logistics saw slight declines,while processing trade dropped 8.1%.

Notably,domestic enterprises performed exceptionally well in Q1.Private enterprises maintained nearly stable import-export values,while state-owned enterprises grew significantly by 9.2%,accounting for 11.9% of total trade.Meanwhile,foreign-invested enterprises saw a 3.2% decline but still dominated market share.

Internationally,Shanghais trade with its top three partners (EU,ASEAN,and US) accounted for 41.7% of total trade.However,trade with other BRICS countries showed the most remarkable growth at 17.8%,primarily driven by strong import growth - especially integrated circuits and other high-tech products from these nations.

By product category,ship exports stood out with 13.94 billion yuan,surging 126.7% year-on-year.Large container ship exports grew 211%,contributing 1.9 percentage points to Shanghais total export growth.Additionally,electromechanical product exports saw modest growth,particularly in integrated circuits and automatic data processing equipment/components.

On imports,electromechanical products declined slightly,but integrated circuits,automatic data processing equipment/components,and semiconductor manufacturing equipment saw significant growth.Automatic data processing equipment/components imports surged 69.6%,demonstrating Shanghais strong demand in high-tech sectors.

In summary,although the performance of Shanghai’s foreign trade faced downward pressure in the first quarter of 2024,the recovery of exports and the performance of some high-growth sectors provided positive signals for the economy of Shanghai and the whole country.Especially against the backdrop of a complex and volatile global economy,Shanghai is gradually consolidating its position as the frontier of China’s opening up by optimizing its trade structure and strengthening its connections with international markets.