Beijing's imports, exports fall by 6.2% in Q1

BEIJING -- Beijing Customs said Thursday that its imports and exports in the first quarter of this year totaled 625.42 billion yuan (about $88.34 billion), down 6.2 percent from the same period last year.

From January to March, imports of Beijing reached 502.98 billion yuan, down 8.4 percent year-on-year, while exports increased by 4.4 percent to 122.44 billion yuan.

Imports and exports of State-owned enterprises in Beijing dipped 6.6 percent year-on-year to 465.77 billion yuan, accounting for 74.5 percent of the total value of imports and exports in the capital during the period. Imports and exports of foreign-invested enterprises and private enterprises declined by 0.9 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively.

Beijing saw a 6.9-percent increase in imported automobiles and a 29.6-percent increase in imported iron ore and its concentrates.

Its exports of refined oil, mobile phones, integrated circuits and agricultural products over the past three months increased by 15.2 percent, 24.5 percent, 24.8 percent and 11.3 percent year-on-year, respectively.