Fake trade through Shenzhen reached US$75bn for Jan-Apr
Staff Reporter 2013-06-15 17:29
The Hangcang Free Trade Port Area in Xiamen has a customs special supervision zone. (File photo/Xinhua)
China's customs authorities say the amount of fake border trade at its special supervision zone reached US$75 billion during the first four months of this year. Exports and imports between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in particular were abnormally high, according to Guangzhou's 21st Century Business Herald.
Exports and imports at the zone can enjoy protective tariffs, tax waivers and tax refunds. Between January and April this year, customs authorities found trade through these zones increased 1.3 times to reach US$157.7 billion. The trade volume at the Shenzhen border was unusually high, reaching US$75 billion. The actual trade growth in the area should have been under 20%, said a source.
China's commerce ministry estimated that the fake border trade in Shenzhen inflated the country's trade figures by 8%. Excluding the Shenzhen figures, export growth between January and March was actually only around 10.9% while imports declined 0.4%. However, if the data from Shenzhen is included, the growth rate of exports and imports during the period rose to 18.4% and 8.4% respectively.
Customs authorities last week excluded the fake border trade figures and published what it said were the country's genuine trade figures in May. Compared to April, exports had only increased by 1% while imports declined by 0.3%. The figures from the special supervision zone, however, increased by 19.1% to reach US$23.8 billion.
Li Jian, a researcher with the commerce ministry, said the official figures are still not accurate since they only exclude data from fake border trade at the special supervision zone, inflated export prices and the influence of traders who traded bulk stock to obtain financing.
