New economic figures come in for the first half of the year. China reports a nearly 4 percent growth year on year in foreign trade. This comes despite uncertainties in global trade, especially with the ongoing CHINA-U.S. trade tensions. Details from CGTN's Wang Mengzhen.

A 3.9% foreign trade growth.

Chinese Customs authorities Friday reported China's rather stable performance for the first half of 2019.

While imports jumped 1.4%, exports grew 6.1%. That resulted in a trade surplus of over 1.2 trillion yuan or just below 180 billion U.S. dollars expanded by some 40%.

The spokesperson explained the numbers.

LI KUIWEN, SPOKESPERSON GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS, CHINA "Recently, we've implemented a series of measures to streamline administration, facilitate trade as well as largely cut taxes and fees, especially since late last year. This has boosted the confidence of both enterprises and the market. Plus, China continues to be more open to diverse global markets."

With the China-U.S. trade disputes still not over, bilateral trade suffered a setback, falling 9% in the first 6 months.

While Chinese exports to the U.S. dropped 2.6 percent; imports slumped a quarter of a percentage point.

But China's trade surplus with the U.S. continues to grow.

And this hasn't impacted the overall trade picture as Beijing is increasing trade with other major trading partners.

LI KUIWEN, SPOKESPERSON GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS, CHINA "In the first 6 months, trade with European Union saw a more than 11 percent growth that now accounts for a quarter of China's total foreign trade volume. Trade with ASEAN countries also increased over 10 percent, and trade with Japan jumped 1.7 percent. Meanwhile, trade with Belt and Road member countries increased largely, and now take up nearly 30 percent of the total."

Besides the steady growth figures, Chinese authorities say its trade structure continues to optimize and the driving forces are shifting at a faster pace.

LI KUIWEN, SPOKESPERSON GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS, CHINA "One of the highlights here is that trade made by the private sector has become more vigorous. The import and export volume of private companies increased 11 percent in the first six months, accounting for over 40 percent of China's total trade. Another highlight is that exports of electro-mechanical products like electronic passenger automobiles and solar cells keep growing, taking up more than half of China's total exports."

WANG MENGZHEN BEIJING "When asked about why imports gained just 1.4 percent in the first half of the year, the spokesperson said they need to look at the bigger picture and an obvious growth trend of certain consumers' products despite monthly fluctuations. And more measures will come out soon to further boost imports. WMZ, CGTN, BEIJING.