While China’s trade falls in July, year-to-date figures remains stable

In July, China’s imports and exports were USD 482.92 billion, down 13.6%. Exports were USD 281.76 billion, down 14.5%; imports were USD 201.16 billion, down 12.4%. The trade surplus was USD 80.6 billion, narrowing by 19.4%. In local currency terms, the results do look better.

In the first 7 months of 2023, China’s import and export value was USD 3.4 trillion, down 6.1%. Exports were USD 1.94 trillion, down 5%; imports were USD 1.46 trillion, down 7.6%. The trade surplus was USD 489.57 billion, up 3.5%.

In the first 7 months Exports to ASEAN grew, while imports from the EU and the U.S. increased. ASEAN was China’s largest trading partner, with a total trade value of CNY 3.59 trillion, up 2.8%, accounting for 15.3% of total foreign trade. The EU was the second-largest partner, with trade totaling CNY 3.22 trillion, down 0.1%, accounting for 13.7%. The U.S. was the third-largest partner, with trade at CNY 2.64 trillion, down 9.6%, accounting for 11.2%. The trade surplus with the U.S. was CNY 1.26 trillion, narrowing by 19.5%. Japan was the fourth-largest partner, with trade at CNY 1.27 trillion, down 5.8%, accounting for 5.4%. Trade with Belt and Road countries was CNY 8.06 trillion, up 7.4%.

The export mechanical and electrical products were CNY 7.83 trillion, up 4.4%, accounting for 58.1% of total exports. Of this, automatic data processing equipment and its parts were CNY 735.15 billion, down 19.8%; mobile phones were CNY 462.36 billion, down 6.5%; cars were CNY 383.73 billion, up 118.5%. Labor-intensive product exports were CNY 2.34 trillion, down 2.1%, accounting for 17.4%. Clothing and accessories were CNY 631.14 billion, down 2.1%; textiles were CNY 546.05 billion, down 5.7%; plastic products were CNY 403.24 billion, up 1.5%.

Once again, the automotive industry single-handedly boosted the export figures

Huawei Reports CNY 310.9 Billion Revenue in H1 2023, up 3.1% despite US sanctions

On August 11, Huawei unveiled its financial results for the first half of 2023. In this period, the tech giant posted a sales revenue of CNY 310.9 billion, marking a 3.1% growth compared to the previous year, with a net profit margin standing at 15%. Huawei emphasized the robustness of its operations, noting that these figures met their expectations. Breakdown of the revenues for H1 2023 is as follows:

Its worth mentioning that Huawei’s device business revenue increased by 2.17% year on year in the first half of 2023. In the second quarter of 2023, Huawei’s mobile phone market share increased by 76.1% year on year, ranking second in high-end mobile phone market share. As the pace of new product releases returned to normal, Huawei’s handset shipments continued to recover, with the largest year-on-year increase among major vendors in the second quarter. With the excellent performance of the new P60 series and the foldable Mate X3 series, Huawei maintained its second place in shipments in the $600+ premium handset market. Huawei shipped 7.4 million handsets in Q2, up 15.6 percent year-on-year and sequentially.

In the relatively small, but highly significant smart car solutions business, Huawei Intelligent Choice Vehicle business first pure electric coupe model will be the first to carry HarmonyOS 4, will be officially launched in 2023. It is believed that this new car will be in collaboration with Chery under the brand LUXEED.

Is Huawei already back on its feet after surviving all the sanctions that have come its way in the past years?