BEIJING,April13(Xinhua)--China"sforeigntradegotofftoasteadystartin2023,astotalgoodsimportsandexportsexpanded4.8percentyearonyearinthefirstquarter,reversingadeclineof0.8percentinthefirsttwomonthsoftheyear,officialdatashowedThursday.

Foreigntradehasimprovedoverthepastthreemonths.Afterdropping7percentyearonyearinJanuaryduetotheSpringFestivalholiday,itrecoveredtoanexpansionof8percentinFebruarybeforesurging15.5percentinMarch.

Thefirst-quartergrowthrateacceleratedby2.6percentagepointsfromthepacerecordedinthefourthquarteroflastyear,accordingtotheGeneralAdministrationofCustoms(GAC).

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"China"sforeigntradehasdisplayedresilienceinthefirstquarter.Thesteadygrowthlaidafoundationforpromotingstabilityandimprovingthequalityofforeigntradethroughouttheyear,"saidLyuDaliang,anofficialwiththeGAC.

Inthefirstthreemonths,exportsgrew8.4percentyearonyearto5.65trillionyuan(about823billionU.S.dollars)whileimportsrose0.2percentto4.24trillionyuan,bringingthetotaltradeto9.89trillionyuan.

Duringthisperiod,theAssociationofSoutheastAsianNations(ASEAN)remainedChina"slargesttradepartner.China"stradewithASEANcountriesrose16.1percentyearonyear,11.3percentagepointshigherthanthecountry"soveralltradegrowthrate.

TradewithcountriesalongtheBeltandRoadjumped16.8percentyearonyear,whilethatwithothermembersoftheRegionalComprehensiveEconomicPartnershipgrew7.3percentduringthisperiod.

Newdriversaretakinghold,asChinasawa66.9-percentincreaseintheexportsofthreegreenproducts,namelysolarbatteries,lithium-ionbatteries,andelectricvehicles.Thesethreeproductscontributed2percentagepointstotheoverallexportgrowthinthefirstquarter.

"TherecoveringtrendisexpectedtocontinueasChina"soveralleconomicoperationimproves,"saidLyu,addingthatChina"ssoundeconomicfundamentalsremainunchanged.

However,Lyuwarnedofdifficultiesandchallengesinthesector,includingglobalinflation,weakeningexternaldemand,andglobaluncertaintiesfromprotectionismandgeopoliticalrisks.

AccordingtoaStateCouncilmeetingheldlastweek,Chinawillmakemoreeffortstoimplementapolicymixtomaintainthestabilityofforeigntradeandhelpenterprisessecureordersandexpandthemarket.

Thecountrywillfindwaystostabilizeexportstodevelopedeconomiesandguidecompaniestocontinuetheirexplorationofmarketsindevelopingcountries,aswellasregionalmarketssuchastheASEAN,themeetingsaid.■

ThisaerialphototakenonMarch13,2023showsacontainerterminalofTaicangPort,eastChina"sJiangsuProvince.(Xinhua/LiBo)