A Modest Growth in Imports
The total value of wire & cable imports into China was US$2.4 billion in 2004. Imports have also been growing strongly, averaging 17% per year in terms of value but the growth rate in terms of volume has been modest averaging 5% per year. There is a definite trend in imports towards products with increasingly higher average value.
Looking at »plain« wire & cable, i.e. other cable than harnesses and assemblies, China remains a net importer in value terms. There have been continuing high imports of winding wire ($0.6bn in 2004) and there are also significant imports of auto cable. In contrast to these product groups, there are high exports of coaxial cable ($0.3bn in 2004).
(Most of the data presented in this article are summaries of China’s own trade statistics, reported under product codes covered by the global Harmonised System (HS), with insulated wire & cable under HS 8544. Metric tonnes (t) for volume and US dollars for value are used throughout.)
Cable Assembly & Harness Exports Are Large and Growing
In 2004 all three of the highest value product categories in China’s wire & cable exports were assemblies (cable with connectors) or harnesses (wiring sets):
• HS 8544.51, 80 V to 1 kV: $1.54bn
• HS 8544.41, below 80 V: $505m
• HS 8544.30, wiring sets: $667m
Exports of »Plain« Cable Are Lower
In comparison with exports of cable assemblies and harnesses, exports in those product categories that cover cable alone (i.e. plain cable without extra added value) are relatively modest, $1.0bn in total in 2004. Even in terms of volume, cable assemblies / harnesses dominate Chinese exports, as the HS 8544.51 category accounts for nearly half of the total tonnage of exports.
China is a Net Exporter Mainly Due to Cable Assemblies and Harnesses
In most categories of »plain« cable China is a net importer in value terms ($0.5bn net deficit in 2004), though not in terms of volume. For example, China is a major net importer of winding wire. The exception is coaxial cable where China has large exports. China is a major net exporter of cable assemblies & harnesses (net surplus $1.8bn).
