By Gabby Chen

(JW Insights) Jun 9 -- China's integrated circuits (IC) imports registered a decrease of 19.6% to186.48 billion units in the first five months of 2023, showed data released by the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) on June 7.

The value of imports dropped 18.4% to RMB905.01 billion ($127.03 billion).

During this period, China's total import and export value reached RMB16.77 trillion ($2.35 trillion), a year-on-year increase of 4.7%. Among them, exports were valued at RMB9.62 trillion ($1.35 trillion), representing an 8.1% increase, and imports RMB7.15 trillion ($1 trillion), a growth of 0.5%.

China's mechanical and electrical equipment exports increased 9.5% to RMB5.57 trillion ($780 billion) in the first five months, accounting for 57.9% of the total value of exports.

Among them, automatic data processing equipment (ADPE) and its components were RMB 509.15 billion ($71.47 billion), a decrease of 18.1%, while exports of mobile phones decreased by 6.4% to RMB339.77 billion ($47.69 billion). The automotive sector saw a significant surge, with exports reaching RMB266.78 billion ($37.45 billion), an increase of 124.1%.

Meanwhile, China's imports of mechanical and electrical equipment dropped by 13% to RMB2.43 trillion ($340 billion) in the first five months.

Automobile imports declined by 26.9%, with 284,000 vehicles valued at RMB123.82 billion ($17.38 billion), showing a 21.7% decrease.

In the first five months, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remained China's largest trading partner. Exports to ASEAN reached RMB1.56 trillion ($220 billion), reflecting a 16.4% increase; Imports from ASEAN amounted to RMB1.03 trillion ($140 billion), up 1.4%.

The European Union (EU) ranked as China's second-largest trading partner, with exports valued at RMB1.48 trillion ($210 billion), marking a 2.4% increase.

The US was China's third-largest trading partner, with exports reaching RMB1.38 trillion ($190 billion), a decrease of 8.5%; Imports from the US grew by 3.9% to RMB508.29 billion ($71.35 billion), according to the GACC data.