Overview of Foreign Trade in Tangshan City

1. Basic information

     Firstly, the trade scale has seen steady growth. In recent years, the foreign trade scale of our city has been continuously expanding. In 2019, thanks to the significant increase in imports of iron ore and coal, the annual import and export volume reached 733.8 billion yuan, marking a year-on-year growth of 22.1%. This marked the first time since 2015 that the city's foreign trade import and export had stopped declining and started to rebound. In 2020, China's epidemic prevention and control measures were effectively controlled, and the industrial and supply chains quickly recovered. The export of epidemic prevention materials surged, coupled with the continued increase in imports of iron ore and coal. Notably, the introduction of the PetroChina International LNG import project in the second half of the year drove the city's foreign trade import and export to once again exceed the 100 billion yuan mark, reaching 1021.1 billion yuan, an increase of 39%. In 2021, steel and iron ore prices soared, steel exports doubled, and PetroChina International achieved full-year LNG imports. Coupled with the continued expansion of epidemic prevention material exports, the city's foreign trade import and export volume reached a record high of 1420.9 billion yuan, marking a year-on-year increase of 36.3%. In 2022, due to the decline in ore prices, the import volume dropped significantly, and the export of epidemic prevention materials plummeted. The import volume of coal and LNG increased due to substantial price hikes, but it was not enough to compensate for the shortfall caused by the decrease in iron ore imports and epidemic prevention material exports. Later, through policies to introduce trade enterprises to tackle difficulties, the annual import and export volume exceeded the 150 billion yuan mark, achieving an import volume of 1539.8 billion yuan, doubling compared to 2019 and setting a new record high, ranking first in the province with a year-on-year increase of 8%. In 2023, actively responding to the impact of the decline in commodity prices, especially iron ore and coal prices, and the policy adjustments for building a unified national market, the city implemented new growth projects for foreign trade. Xintian LNG was put into production in the second half of the year, and China Grain Import & Export Group's soybean imports for foreign trade returned. At the same time, measures such as introducing trade enterprises through policies were taken. The annual foreign trade import and export volume reached 1637.1 billion yuan, marking a year-on-year increase of 9%. From January to October this year, although 43 new growth points and foreign trade return projects, such as the export of Shougang Zhixin Electrical Steel, were planned, due to the significant impact of commodity prices, especially iron ore and coal prices, as well as factors such as the adjustment of policies for building a unified national market, it was difficult to compensate for the impact of comprehensive downward factors. The city's foreign trade import and export volume reached 1225 billion yuan, although it continued to lead the province in total volume, it decreased by 2.3% year-on-year.

Secondly, the structure of foreign trade has been continuously optimized. In 2023, our city imported and exported 3,891 types of goods, an increase of 651 types compared to 2019. The five major categories of goods, namely steel, electromechanical products, ceramics, clothing and textile raw materials, and chemical and related industrial products, accounted for 19.8%, 36.5%, 7%, 8.6%, and 5.9% of the city's total exports in 2023, respectively, down from 70%, 11.1%, 6.6%, 4%, and 2.8% in 2015. In 2023, iron ore and coal imports accounted for 52.7% and 89.7% of the province's total imports, respectively; LNG and aluminum ore imports have become new growth points for our city, accounting for 100% and 97% of the province's total imports, respectively.

Thirdly, the foreign trade entities have gradually grown stronger. In 2023, the number of enterprises with actual import and export performance in the city reached 1,201, which was 1.3 times that of 2018, with an average annual growth rate of 5.5% over the past five years. Among them, there were 182 enterprises with foreign trade import and export volume exceeding 100 million yuan, 5 enterprises with import and export volume exceeding 5 billion yuan, and 3 enterprises with import and export volume exceeding 10 billion yuan, an increase of 106, 2, and 3 enterprises respectively compared to 2019.

Fourthly, market diversification has achieved initial results. In 2023, there were 206 countries (regions) that had economic and trade exchanges with our city, an increase of 17 compared to 2019. The total import and export volume with Northeast Asia was 21.287 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.35%, which was 2.8 times that of 2018, with an average annual growth rate of 22.95% over the past five years.

Fifth, new forms of foreign trade have accelerated their growth. Since 2019, our city has actively sought national demonstration pilot projects. The pilot project for market procurement trade at Tangshan International Trade and Trade Center [approved in 2022, the second one in the province after the Baigou market procurement trade pilot], the pilot project for used car export city [approved in 2020, the second batch nationwide and the first approved city in Hebei Province], and the national import trade promotion and innovation demonstration zone in Caofeidian District [the only one in the province] have been successfully approved. The construction of the comprehensive pilot zone for cross-border e-commerce has accelerated [approved in 2018, the first approved city in Hebei Province].