BEIJING, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's total goods imports and exports expanded 5.3 percent year on year in yuan terms in the first three quarters of this year, maintaining stable growth, official data showed Monday.

The goods trade volume expanded to 32.33 trillion yuan (about 4.57 trillion U.S. dollars) in the January-September period, reaching a new high, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

Exports rose 6.2 percent year on year to 18.62 trillion yuan, while imports climbed 4.1 percent year on year to 13.71 trillion yuan in the first three quarters, the GAC data showed.

China's export product structure continued to improve during the first three quarters, Wang Lingjun, deputy head of the GAC, told a State Council Information Office press conference.

Mechanical and electrical products continued to dominate China's exports during the period, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the total, according to Wang.

Specifically, exports of high-end equipment, integrated circuits, automobiles and home appliances rose 43.4 percent, 22 percent, 22.5 percent and 15.5 percent, respectively.

"The current domestic and international environment is increasingly complex, posing challenges to the development of China's foreign trade," said Wang. "Overall, thanks to the dual drive of supply and demand, the country's imports and exports have maintained stable growth."

Moreover, "it is the first time in history for the scale of imports and exports to exceed 10 trillion yuan for three consecutive quarters," Wang added.

Various types of market entities have remained active in the first three quarters. Private enterprises achieved imports and exports of 17.78 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.4 percent, contributing 93.8 percent to the overall growth of foreign trade.

Imports and exports of foreign-invested enterprises increased by 1.1 percent, achieving growth for two consecutive quarters.

Driven by stable growth in industrial production and consumption markets, China's import volume of bulk commodities increased by 5 percent year on year in the first three quarters.

Among them, energy products such as crude oil, natural gas and coal reached 901 million tonnes, an increase of 4.8 percent year on year. Metal ore imports totaled 1.14 billion tonnes, an increase of 4.9 percent year on year.

During the same period, imports of consumer goods exceeded 1.3 trillion yuan.

From an international perspective, market diversification is steadily progressing. In the first three quarters, China's trade with over 160 countries and regions around the world achieved growth.

During the period, China's trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 15.21 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.3 percent, accounting for 47.1 percent of the total.

Trade with other BRICS countries increased by 5.1 percent year on year, trade with other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership grew by 4.5 percent year on year, while that with ASEAN countries rose 9.4 percent.

Wang pointed out that China's advantages such as sound economic fundamentals, vast market, strong resilience and enormous potential have remained unchanged.

"With the continued implementation of existing policies and the introduction of new policies, the positive factors for foreign trade development have accumulated," said Wang, adding that China has the foundation for stable trade growth in the fourth quarter. Enditem

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