The Information Office of the Hunan Provincial People's Government held a press conference on Hunan's import and export in 2023 on January 17. According to Xu Xiaojie, deputy director of the Changsha Customs, Hunan's foreign trade has shown a trend of rational recovery and improved quality and efficiency in 2023. The province has navigated multiple pressures such as sluggish external demand and high foreign trade base in the first half of 2023. Hunan has conducted trade with diverse trading partners, reaching 235 countries and regions. 

The province's foreign trade volume totaled 617.5 billion yuan in 2023. Exports stood at 400.94 billion yuan while imports amounted to 216.56 billion yuan, hitting a record high.  

In 2023, Hunan's imports increased 14.6% year on year to 216.56 billion yuan, exceeding 200 billion yuan for the first time. The proportion of imports in the province's total foreign trade increased from 26.9% in 2022 to 35.1% in 2023. Imports of bulk commodities such as energy, metal ores, and grain increased by more than 20% year on year. Imports of consumer goods such as foods, tobacco, alcohol, daily chemical products, jewelry, and watches increased by 13.4% year on year, meeting the diversified needs of the people for a happy life.

Hunan has diverse trading partners, almost half of which were countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2023, Hunan has established trade relations with 235 countries and regions. Hunan's trade with Africa rose 0.7% to 55.67 billion yuan. The province's trade with economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative amounted to 323.27 billion yuan, accounting for 52.4% of the province's total foreign trade. The figure was 2.1 percentage points higher than that of last year. 

Hunan's traditional and competitive products sold well across the globe. Its "new three" products, namely electric vehicles for transport of persons, lithium-ion batteries, and solar cells, became the most popular export products. In 2023, Hunan exported 26.31 billion yuan of construction machinery products, a surge of 43.7%; and 910 million yuan of rail transit equipment, an increase of 44%. Exports of the "new three" products reached 6.7 billion yuan, up 28.5%. 

The scale of foreign trade entities has continued to grow. In 2023, Hunan has more than 4,900 new registered foreign trade enterprises, bringing the total number to 29,000. Among them, the number of enterprises obtaining the AEO status increased 67.7% to 104. Foreign trade by private firms accounted for 80% of the provincial total. 

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn