BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th August, 2023) China's oil and natural gas imports in the first seven months of 2023 grew by 12.4% and 7.6%, respectively, the data of the Chinese General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday.
In January-July 2023, China imported 325.75 million tonnes of oil worth $187.29 billion, down 12.3% on the same period in 2022. In July alone, China purchased from abroad 43.69 million tonnes of crude valued at $23.9 billion.
China's natural gas imports in the first seven months of 2023 totaled 66.88 million tonnes worth $36.9 billion, up 1.1% year-on-year. Last month, China's gas shipments from abroad amounted to 10.3 million tonnes worth $4.9 billion.
Meanwhile, coal imports totaled 261.18 million tonnes in January-July 2023, which is 88.6% above the same period in 2022, and were valued at $31.56 billion, up 41.4% year-on-year. The July purchases came in at 39.26 million tonnes of coal worth $3.87 billion.
China's overall imports slumped 7.6% in the first seven months of this year to $1.46 trillion, while exports sagged by 5% over the same period to $1.95 trillion, the data showed. China's foreign trade surplus reached $489.57 billion in January-July 2023.
The country's total foreign trade amounted to $3.4 trillion in the first seven months of 2023, dropping 6.1% compared to the same period in 2022.
Foreign trade in July reached $482.9 billion, down 13.6% year-on-year and down 3.4% month-on-month. Last month's exports totaled $281.76 billion, down 14.5% from July 2022 and down 1.2% from June 2023, while imports stood at $201.16 billion, down 14.5% year-on-year and down 6.3% month-on-month.
China's top trade partners over the first seven months of 2023 were the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with combined imports and exports worth some $519 billion, the European Union with $464.24 billion and the United States with $381.51 billion.
In 2022, the country's foreign trade grew by 4.4% year-on-year, reaching $6.3 trillion. China's exports last year rose by 7% to $3.59 trillion compared to 2021, with imports increasing by 1.1% to $2.71 trillion.
