News
The total value of trade between Japan and China decreased 0.6% to slightly over US$301.6 billion in 2016, suffering a year-on-year contraction for the second consecutive year, according to a report the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) released on March 13. In breakdown, exports from Japan came back to improve 1.6% to $145 billion. In contrast, imports from China decreased 2.5% to $156.6 billion, as major commodities shrank across the board. However, the range of reduction was much smaller—by 8.8 percentage points—than the 11.3% registered a year earlier.
The JETRO report, which had been complied with statistical data provided by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) of Japan and the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), anticipated that in 2017, exports from Japan of electronics parts and components, machinery and other products destined to manufacturing hubs in China will rise due to, among other reasons, growth in demand for automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR); market expansions and the popularization of the Internet of things (IoT). On the other hand, it is highly likely that chemicals will continue to go down under the influence of shifts to higher-performance products.
As for imports from China, meanwhile, JETRO projected there will be a certain level of demand for budget smartphones and other goods, but that electric machinery and equipment will decrease more notably. It is also expected that garments, footwear and others will remain on a downward trend, as more of these items will be imported from other countries and regions.
