Preface:

In the global trade landscape, trade in goods still dominates, and cities lacking solid and competitive manufacturing capabilities will find it difficult to gain a foothold in the global market.

Looking back at the evolution of the top ten foreign trade cities over the years, it is not difficult to find that Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, Suzhou, Dongguan, and other cities have consistently ranked among the top five, demonstrating their stable status and strong strength in the field of foreign trade. In contrast, other cities have shown more significant fluctuations and changes.

Author: Fang Wensan

Image Source: Network

Shenzhen Becomes China's Top Foreign Trade City

Data released by Shenzhen Customs recently showed that in the first four months of this year, Shenzhen's cumulative total import and export reached 1.41 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.8%.

Among them, the total export was 893.32 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 33.9%; and the total import was 517.26 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.4%.

Among the top ten cities in national foreign trade exports, Shenzhen ranked first in terms of total import and export, growth rate, export value, growth rate, and import growth rate in the first four months.

This marks Shenzhen's success in becoming China's top foreign trade city, building upon its status as the largest exporter for 31 consecutive years.

Last year, Shenzhen ranked second in terms of total import and export. However, this year, Shenzhen's foreign trade has continued to maintain a strong growth trend.

In the first quarter, Shenzhen's total import and export increased by 28.8% year-on-year, and the total amount exceeded the trillion yuan mark for the first time in a decade.

Entering April, Shenzhen's import and export growth rate further accelerated to 40.4%. Among them, the total export was 251.02 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 51%; and the total import was 139.48 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.6%.

It is worth mentioning that since 2015, Shenzhen has surpassed Shanghai in terms of total import and export for the first time, officially establishing itself as China's top foreign trade city.

In the past year, Shenzhen has focused on the development goals of strategic emerging industrial clusters and future industries under the "[20+8]" plan, implementing the "five external linkage" strategy of foreign trade, foreign investment, outsourcing, foreign economy, and foreign intelligence;

enhancing the competitiveness of trillion- and hundred-billion-level export industrial clusters in electronics, new energy, and other sectors, while intensifying efforts to develop high-end medical devices, biopharmaceuticals, new materials, and other hundred-billion-level export industrial clusters to expand the depth and breadth of the global market.

Major Characteristics of Shenzhen's Foreign Trade

① Private enterprises, as the main driving force for foreign trade growth, achieved a total import and export of 1 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 48%, accounting for a significant proportion of Shenzhen's total import and export value, reaching 71%, an increase of 7.8 percentage points from the same period last year.

In contrast, although the total import and export of foreign-invested enterprises reached 345.01 billion yuan, the growth rate was only 5.3%, accounting for 24.5% of Shenzhen's total import and export value.

② General trade and bonded logistics showed significant growth trends, while processing trade showed slight growth.

Specifically, in the first four months, Shenzhen's import and export value achieved through general trade reached 813.05 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 47.6%, accounting for 57.6% of Shenzhen's total import and export value, an increase of 6.2 percentage points from the same period last year.

At the same time, the import and export value of bonded logistics reached 332.65 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 27.1%, accounting for 23.6%. The import and export value of processing trade was 254.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.9%, accounting for 18%.

③ Both mechanical and electronic products and labor-intensive products achieved growth. In the first four months, Shenzhen's total export of mechanical and electronic products reached 607.65 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.9%, accounting for a high proportion of 68% of Shenzhen's total export value.

Among them, traditional export commodities such as mobile phones, computers, and household appliances totaled 114.58 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.9%; and the export value of audio-visual equipment and parts reached 25.86 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25.2%.

In addition, the export value of labor-intensive products reached 120.37 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 75.1%, accounting for 13.5% of the total export value.

Among them, the export value of textiles and clothing reached 36.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 67.3%; and the export value of furniture reached 18.19 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 141.2%.

④ In terms of imported products, mechanical and electronic products dominate, accounting for more than three-quarters of the total import value. In particular, the import volume of computer parts and components has doubled.

Specifically, in the first four months, Shenzhen's total import of mechanical and electronic products reached 391.71 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.8%, accounting for 75.7% of Shenzhen's total import value.

Several Reasons Behind the Data Growth

Shenzhen's significant advantage lies in its high degree of marketization, with a large group of private enterprises forming its solid economic foundation.

Private enterprises contribute more than 60% to Shenzhen's import and export business, which aligns with its status as having the highest number of market entities and enterprises nationwide for many years.

As a leading city in the field of cross-border e-commerce, Shenzhen achieved over 110 billion yuan in cross-border e-commerce import and export in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 95%, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the national total.

The Pearl River Delta region, as one of the world's important manufacturing bases, with Guangzhou and Shenzhen as international trade centers, has the dual advantages of "[industrial clusters + cross-border e-commerce]," providing strong momentum for regional economic development.

In terms of industrial structure, emerging industries such as electric passenger cars, lithium batteries, and solar cells constitute the "[new three]," while traditional manufacturing industries such as clothing, home appliances, and furniture belong to the typical "[old three]."

In recent years, Shenzhen has successfully cultivated BYD, a world-leading producer of new energy vehicles, making Shenzhen, which was not prominent in the field of automobile production, leapfrog to become a leading city in the national new energy vehicle field.

According to BYD's public data, in April this year, BYD sold 41,000 electric vehicles overseas, a year-on-year increase of 176.6%, and the cumulative sales from January to April reached a high of 138,900 vehicles.

During the period from January to April this year, BYD achieved a total sales volume of 939,500 vehicles in both domestic and overseas markets, a year-on-year increase of 23.24%.

Exports of "[New Three]" Reflect Changes in Trade Structure

Emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, power batteries, semiconductors, robotics, and low-altitude economy are highly dependent on the upstream and downstream industrial chains provided by mechanical and electronic products.

As the primary category of Shenzhen's exports, the advantages of mechanical and electronic products remain solid.

According to Shenzhen Customs data, in 2023, Shenzhen's exports of mechanical and electronic products reached 1.78 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.7%, accounting for 72.6% of Shenzhen's total export value during the same period.

Among mechanical and electronic products, electric passenger cars, lithium-ion batteries, and solar cells, known as the "[new three]," showed strong export momentum, with a combined export value of 88.76 billion yuan, an increase of 33.9%.

First, the rapid export growth of emerging industry products such as the "[new three]" demonstrates strong market potential.

Second, with the continuous upgrading of China's industrial structure, the export volume of intermediate goods, parts and components, and terminal equipment has also shown an increasing trend.

In addition, knowledge-intensive digital service trade has also shown rapid development momentum.

These three major trends in foreign trade structure are inevitable outcomes of a new round of globalization.

Compared with the previous round of globalization, China is no longer simply embedded in the global value chain but is committed to leading the global value chain and achieving advantages in all value chain links such as R&D design and marketing brands.

From the export of labor-intensive products to the export of strategic emerging industry products, Shenzhen's industrial structure has continued to optimize and upgrade, making it highly competitive in the international market.

Looking ahead, the global automobile market is expected to gradually recover in 2024, and the pace of green and low-carbon transformation will accelerate.

Against this background, with its significant advantages in the supply of "[new three]" products, Shenzhen is expected to continue maintaining its growth momentum in "[new three]" exports, driven by the goal of building a "[new generation of world-class automobile city]."

In addition, Shenzhen's leading products in areas such as robotics, drones, electronic consumer goods, and wearable devices have a high degree of match with the markets of countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The strong driving force of market demand has enabled Shenzhen's foreign trade exports to maintain a leading position.

Conclusion:

The main reasons why Shenzhen has become the top foreign trade city are its institutional innovation, the expansion of new foreign trade channels and new business forms, the active utilization of international cooperation initiatives, the strengthening of independent innovation and technological research and development, high-quality economic growth, strong performance in foreign trade import and export, the innovative consciousness of listed companies, the rapid development of new business forms and models, world-class locational advantages, and the global competitiveness of "Made in Shenzhen."

Partial References: Liu Xiaobo Talks about Shenzhen: "Surpassing Shanghai, Shenzhen Wins the Overall Championship in [Exports + Imports]," Urban Finance and Economics: "Surpassing Shanghai! Shenzhen Goes Crazy!" National Economic Strategy: "China's Top Foreign Trade City Has Changed Hands," Urban War: "Shenzhen Suddenly Surpasses Shanghai! Has China's Top Foreign Trade City Changed Hands?" Southern Weekly: "Why Can Shenzhen Continue to Lead the Nation in Foreign Trade Exports for 31 Consecutive Years?" Urban Finance and Economics: "Surpassing Shanghai! Shenzhen Tops the Increment!"