International Trade: China'S Trade With Other BRICS Countries Is Increasingly Close

According to customs statistics, in the first quarter, China's imports and exports to other nine BRICS countries totaled 1.49 trillion yuan, up 11.3% year on year, accounting for 14.7% of China's total imports and exports.

Specifically, Brazil is China's largest trading partner in Latin America. In the first quarter, China's exports and imports to Brazil increased by 25.7% and 30.1% respectively year on year. The trade between China and Russia has continued to expand. Since this year, the trade between the two countries in energy, automobiles, general machinery and equipment and other fields has continued to grow. China India trade grew year-on-year for five consecutive quarters, with an increase of 8.5% in the first quarter. South Africa has been China's largest trading partner in Africa for 14 consecutive years. In the first quarter, China exported 35.11 billion yuan to South Africa and imported 66.46 billion yuan from South Africa.

In addition, China has maintained good cooperation with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the field of energy trade, and both countries were among the top ten source countries of China's energy products in the first quarter. China has carried out practical cooperation with Egypt and Ethiopia in the field of infrastructure. In the first quarter, China's export of overseas contracted projects to both countries achieved rapid growth. China's small commodities are also popular in Iran. In the first quarter, China's purchase and export to the Iranian market increased by 15.2% year on year.

Lu Daliang, Director of the Department of Statistics and Analysis of the General Administration of Customs, said that as representatives of emerging markets and developing countries, BRICS countries are expected to become "accelerators" of the current global economic recovery and trade development. "At present, BRICS countries' trade in goods accounts for about 20% of the world's total, but their trade with each other only accounts for about 10% of their total foreign trade, which still has great growth potential. It is believed that with the further enrichment and development of the contents and fields of BRICS family cooperation, bilateral and multilateral economic and trade exchanges are expected to make more positive progress."

From January 1, 2024, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Ethiopia will become full members of the BRICS countries, and the number of BRICS members will increase from 5 to 10.