The export data for the first four months of this year demonstrates the resilience of Shanghai's foreign trade.

According to statistics from Shanghai Customs, in the first four months of this year, Shanghai's foreign trade imports and exports achieved 1.4 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1%. Among them, exports performed brightly, with export value reaching 629.02 billion yuan, a growth of 13.8%, and the growth rate accelerated by 1.2 percentage points compared to the first quarter.

\The import and export trade growth data for Shanghai in the first four months of this year shows that in the face of the complex and changing global trade environment, Shanghai's foreign trade growth has become more stable, reflecting its important position as an engine of China's economic growth,\ Wu Yiping, a specially appointed researcher at the Chinese Modernization Research Institute of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, said in an interview with The Paper.

What does the foreign trade situation in Shanghai for the first four months imply?

The logic of global supply chain selection is not reversible in the short term.

Postdoctoral researcher Xie Huimin from the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said in an interview with The Paper's journalists that under the pressure test of the United States' equivalent tariff, Shanghai's foreign trade exports in the first four months of this year were eye-catching, which is related to various factors.

\Resources tend to flow towards places with higher efficiency, lower risk, and more stable output. In terms of product structure, mechanical and electrical products have supported Shanghai's exports in the first four months. In the first four months, Shanghai's mechanical and electrical product exports contributed to more than sixty percent of the city's total export value. Shanghai's industrial transformation has been quite effective, with significant exports in high-end manufacturing, green manufacturing, intelligent manufacturing, and branded manufacturing. In the first four months, exports of large liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, electric vehicles, and energy storage batteries, which are independently designed and manufactured in Shanghai, have significantly increased.\

Xie Huimin further pointed out that over the years, through continuous development of foreign trade markets, Shanghai has formed a multi-level trade network covering the globe. In the first four months of this year, Shanghai achieved foreign trade growth with 166 trade partners. Among them, the countries and regions involved in the joint construction of the \Belt and Road\ initiative are an important growth engine in Shanghai's trade network, and Shanghai's foreign trade connections with key areas such as Eastern Europe have become closer.

Additionally, the improvement and efficiency of cross-border logistics is also an important reason. \Shanghai Port is one of the core gateways for China's foreign cargo transportation and plays a key role in the global supply chain. Relying on the sea transportation of Shanghai Port and the air transportation of Pudong International Airport, Shanghai actively expands multimodal transport services, and helps the benign development of foreign trade by improving the efficiency of cross-border logistics,\ said Xie Huimin.

Director of the Innovation and Economic Research Center and Head of the Western Economic Research Office at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Zhan Yubo, pointed out in an interview with The Paper's journalists that behind the changes in Shanghai's foreign trade data in the first four months, there are both strategic responses and structural adjustments, showing the strong resilience of Shanghai's foreign trade entities in dealing with significant market changes.

\In terms of strategic responses to trade wars, market entities strive to minimize the impact of market fluctuations by advancing shipments, which is in line with the national trend of foreign trade changes. In terms of export destinations, Shanghai's export market is becoming increasingly diversified, providing more options for dealing with market volatility risks when major changes occur in the original main export markets, thus benefiting the resolution of market risks,\ said Zhan Yubo.

In this process, private enterprises have become the vanguard of Shanghai's foreign trade. In the first four months of this year, there are more than 50,000 enterprises in Shanghai with actual foreign trade performance, among which nearly 40,000 are private enterprises.

\In terms of export entities, private enterprises have shown a more important position, changing the long-standing situation where Shanghai's foreign trade was mainly supported by foreign-funded enterprises and state-owned enterprises, showing a more diverse composition of export entities and higher market sensitivity,\ said Zhan Yubo.

Wu Yiping also believes that the proportion of private enterprises exceeding 70% for the first time indicates that the structure of Shanghai's import and export trade continues to optimize. Continuously upgrading and optimizing the business environment to promote the \accelerated running\ of the private economy has provided strong support for enhancing the resilience of Shanghai's economy.

\ commercial cleaning robot 'Xiao Lan Jing' has made good progress in the European market, with positive customer feedback,\ Chen Haibo, founder and chairman of Shenlan Technology Group, told the reporter from The Paper. \As one of the pioneers in the field of AI hardware in Shanghai going global, Shenlan Technology adheres to a dual drive of 'technology + scenario', and our business has expanded to over 20 countries and regions in Europe, America, Latin America, and along the Belt and Road Initiative.\

Subsequent Outlook

After concluding the trade talks in Geneva, China and the United States have pressed a 90-day \pause button\ on \reciprocal tariffs,\ ushering in a valuable \foreign trade window period\ for businesses of both countries.

Xie Huimin pointed out that it is expected that in the coming period, Shanghai's foreign trade enterprises will engage in a period of export scrambling and advance stockpiling actions. To help enterprises effectively resist external risks, Shanghai Customs has introduced the \Shanghai Customs 2025 Special Action Measures to Promote the Facilitation of Cross-Border Trade.\ \This policy covers 33 measures, aimed at further ensuring the convenience of goods clearance, improving cross-border logistics efficiency, and optimizing regulatory processes. Through these measures, Shanghai will provide enterprises with a more flexible and efficient trade facilitation environment, ensuring the resilience of foreign trade.\

Wu Yiping stated that Shanghai's foreign trade \circle of friends\ has further expanded, especially in the development of emerging markets, which has been very effective. This indicates that Shanghai has the ability to cope with fluctuations in traditional markets, reducing the huge risk of relying on a single market. Subsequently, more focus can be placed on countries and regions involved in the joint construction of the \Belt and Road\ initiative to explore more trade cooperation opportunities.

\Although the current import and export trade situation is favorable, the impact of external tariff policies and global economic uncertainty still need attention. Shanghai should actively explore diversified markets and continue to promote breakthroughs in key core areas of technology to enhance its own risk resistance,\ said Wu Yiping.