In Q1 2024, despite numerous global economic challenges, Shanghaisforeign tradedata revealed some optimistic signals, particularly in exports. According to Shanghai Customs statistics, the citysimport and exporttotal value reached 1.03 trillion yuan in Q1, marking a 1.1% decline year-on-year. However, exports bucked the trend with 1% growth to 410.6 billion yuan. This turnaround was mainly driven by strong export performance in March, which reached 144.75 billion yuan, up 2% year-on-year - particularly notable against the backdrop of a 3.8% decline in national exports.

On imports, Shanghais Q1 figures showed 622.19 billion yuan, down 2.5% year-on-year. Nevertheless, the trade deficit narrowed by 8.7% to 211.59 billion yuan. A closer look reveals ongoing optimization in Shanghais foreign trade structure. General trade remained stable with a marginal 0.02% increase to 621.93 billion yuan (exports up 3.5%, imports down 1.9%). Bonded logistics saw slight declines, while processing trade dropped 8.1%.

Notably, domestic enterprises performed exceptionally well in Q1. Private enterprises maintained nearly stable import-export values, while state-owned enterprises grew significantly by 9.2%, accounting for 11.9% of total trade. Meanwhile, foreign-invested enterprises saw a 3.2% decline but still dominated market share.

Internationally, Shanghais trade with its top three partners (EU, ASEAN, and US) accounted for 41.7% of total trade. However, trade with other BRICS countries showed the most remarkable growth at 17.8%, primarily driven by strong import growth - especially integrated circuits and other high-tech products from these nations.

By product category, ship exports stood out with 13.94 billion yuan, surging 126.7% year-on-year. Large container ship exports grew 211%, contributing 1.9 percentage points to Shanghais total export growth. Additionally, electromechanical product exports saw modest growth, particularly in integrated circuits and automatic data processing equipment/components.

On imports, electromechanical products declined slightly, but integrated circuits, automatic data processing equipment/components, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment saw significant growth. Automatic data processing equipment/components imports surged 69.6%, demonstrating Shanghais strong demand in high-tech sectors.

In summary, while facing downward pressure in Q1 2024, Shanghais foreign trade showed positive signals through export recovery and high-growth sectors, providing encouraging signs for both Shanghai and Chinas economy. Amid global complexities, Shanghai is consolidating its position as Chinas open economic frontier through optimized trade structures and strengthened international market connections.