(Yicai Global) July 5 -- China’s international trade will expand by about 10 percent this year, according to experts, after the value of exports and imports hit a record CNY14.76 trillion (USD2.28 trillion) in the first five months.

The global pandemic is the main driving force behind the growth, as more orders have been coming China’s way amid production and distribution problems in other countries, Huo Jianguo, the deputy chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies, told Yicai Global.

China’s foreign trade surged 28.2 percent in January through May, per statistics from the General Administration of Customs. That was almost a 22 percent increase from the same period in 2019. Exports soared 30.1 percent to CNY8.04 trillion, while imports jumped 25.9 percent to CNY6.72 trillion. Both reached 10-year highs.

China is also recovering its manufacturing capacity and strengthening its ability to export, said Huo, who is also a former director of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, or CAITEC, under the Ministry of Commerce.

China’s exporters got back to production earlier, supplanting those in other countries where the pandemic is still ongoing, according to Prof. Ding Yuan, deputy president and dean of studies at the China Europe International Business School. The stay-at-home economy consumption pattern promoted during the pandemic is also beneficial to China's export structure, he added.

There is concern in some quarters that countries will buy less from China when they get back to business, but experts such as Liang Ming, director of the Foreign Trade Research Institute of the CAITEC, believe that China’s international trade will continue its upward trajectory. A significant reduction in procurement is unlikely because once dependency on a particular source of imports is formed, it can be sustained, Liang told Yicai Global.

China’s exports will continue to increase this year, and its role in the global supply chain is not going to weaken even if the demand for coronavirus-related goods begins to fall, said Tommy Wu, chief economist at Oxford Economics. The global economy’s strong recovery will in fact support China's export prospects, he said.

The share of general exports has been on the rise this year, and those of mechanical, electrical and labor-intensive products have maintained growth, according to the head of the Department of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Commerce.

China’s exports of mechanical and electrical products climbed more than 30 percent in January through May, and their proportion remained stable. Exports of some high-quality, high-tech and high-value-added auto parts and vehicles were also strong, up 37.6 percent and 95.8 percent, respectively, according to customs data.

Editor: Futura Costaglione