Growth and reform are the fundamental factors behind the development and growth of China's foreign trade in the seven decades. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the establishment of an independent socialist economic and trade system with highly centralized planning and management is regarded as a major progress in history. Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, China's exports have become more diversified, and its export structure has become more and more similar to developed economies. The structure of imported commodities shows the in-depth development of China's industrialization process, the improvement of domestic processing and manufacturing capabilities and the improvement of the industrial system, and the improvement of people's living standards.
1949-1978: Established an independent foreign trade system
Before 1949, China's economic foundation was very weak and lacked a complete industrial system. Foreign trade is dominated by agricultural products, raw materials and natural resources, and there is no independent foreign trade system. For example, before 1949, there were about 4,600 domestic and foreign foreign trade enterprises at various ports in my country, with about 35,000 employees and only 130,000,000 yuan of capital, and the number of large enterprises with capital of more than 100,000 yuan was very small.
From 1950 to 1959, China's national economy and industrial production gradually recovered and developed, and foreign trade also resumed. The nascent People's Republic of China strived to establish an independent foreign trade system. In November 1949, China established the Ministry of Trade, under which the Department of Foreign Trade was established. In December 1950, China promulgated the Interim Regulations on Foreign Trade and later the Interim Law on Customs. In 1952, China established the Ministry of Foreign Trade to centrally and uniformly manage foreign trade, examine and approve the registration of various foreign trade enterprises, and implement classified management of import and export commodities.
As can be seen from Table 1, from 1950 to 1959, China's total import and export volume increased from US$1.13 billion to US$4.38 billion, the total export value increased from US$550 million to US$2.26 billion, and the total import value increased from US$580 million to US$2.12 billion. Dollar. The substantial growth of foreign trade has played a crucial role in the recovery and development of China's economy.
From 1960 to 1969, due to various unfavorable factors at home and abroad, my country's economic development was affected to a certain extent. Foreign trade fluctuated, and imports and exports grew slowly.
After entering the 1970s, the international environment began to undergo positive changes in favor of China, and developed countries began to establish diplomatic relations with China. In 1971, China resumed its legal seat in the United Nations; in 1972, China and the United States established diplomatic relations; in 1975, China and the European Community established formal economic and trade relations. As can be seen from Table 1, from 1970 to 1978, the growth rate of China's foreign trade increased significantly. The total import and export volume increased from 4.59 billion US dollars to 20.64 billion US dollars, an increase of 5 times, with an average annual growth rate of 10.91%. The total export value increased from 2.26 billion US dollars to 9.75 billion US dollars, an increase of 5 times, with an average annual growth rate of 10.79%; the total import value increased from 2.33 billion US dollars to 10.89 billion US dollars, an increase of 5 times, with an average annual growth rate of 11.02%.
Foreign trade has played a key role in boosting China's industrial production. China imported a large number of machinery and equipment, introduced many advanced technologies, and imported many industrial raw materials and components, which played an important role in the establishment and restoration of my country's industrial system. As can be seen from Table 1, from 1953 to 1962, the proportion of machinery and equipment in imports was as high as 40%. From 1972 to 1977, China imported 222 technologies, machinery and equipment from more than 10 developed countries including the United States and Japan, equivalent to 3.96 billion US dollars. The proportion of industrial raw materials in my country's imports is relatively high, and it is increasing year by year. Since the early 1960s, industrial raw materials have taken the largest share of China's imports instead of machinery and equipment. After the 1960s, their share rose further to an overwhelming 50%.
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