China's Foreign Trade in 2025: Resilience, Diversification, and New Drivers Define Growth Trends
2025-10-14
China's Foreign Trade in 2025: Resilience, Diversification, and New Drivers Define Growth Trends 
BEIJING, Oct. 13 – China's foreign trade demonstrated remarkable resilience and dynamic growth in the first three quarters of 2024, with key indicators pointing towards a trend of steady expansion, market diversification, and a shift towards high-value exports, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs.
Despite a complex global environment, the country's total goods import and export value reached 33.61 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4%. Exports saw a robust rise of 7.1% to 19.95 trillion yuan, while imports stood at 13.66 trillion yuan, edging down by 0.2%. The growth momentum accelerated notably in the third quarter, with September's figures showing a strong 8% increase.
Vice Minister of the General Administration of Customs, Wang Jun, characterized the performance as "showing resilience, dynamism, and sharpness." The trends emerging from the data paint a clear picture of the evolving landscape of China's trade.
Trend 1: Steady Expansion and Reinforced Global Position
The most fundamental trend is the consolidation of China's role as a global trade powerhouse. With a growth rate that accelerated each quarter—from 1.3% in Q1 to 6% in Q3—the sector has recorded eight consecutive quarters of expansion. This "steady momentum," as described by Wang Jun, is underscored by China maintaining its position as the world's largest goods trading nation for the first seven months of the year.
Trend 2: Accelerated Market Diversification Away from Traditional Hubs
A key strategic trend is the rapid diversification of trade partners. Trade with Belt and Road Initiative partner countries grew by 6.2%, now accounting for 51.7% of China’s total trade. This shift is complemented by explosive growth in emerging markets. Exports to Africa surged by 19.5%, while trade with Central Asia and ASEAN grew by 16.7% and 9.6%, respectively. This indicates a successful strategy to mitigate risks and tap into new growth engines beyond traditional Western markets.
Trend 3: The Rise of High-Value, "New Dynamic" Exports
The structure of China's exports is undergoing a significant transformation, marking a shift from traditional merchandise to high-value, technology-intensive products. This "dynamism" is evident in the stellar performance of sectors like industrial robotics, where exports soared by 54.9%, and green technology, with exports of wind turbines and parts up by 23.9%. This trend highlights China's growing strength in advanced manufacturing and the global energy transition supply chain.
Trend 4: Vitality of Private Enterprises as the Primary Engine
The backbone of this resilient trade performance is the ever-growing number of active market players. A record 700,000 enterprises engaged in import-export activities in the first three quarters, surpassing the total for all of 2023. Among them, private enterprises were the undisputed driver, with 613,000 firms generating 19.16 trillion yuan in trade, a growth of 7.8%. Their agility and innovation are critical to the sector's "sharpness" and adaptability.
Outlook:
Supporting these positive trends is a clear rebound in business confidence. The Customs survey showed that export and import business confidence indices have risen for several consecutive months. Furthermore, China is now a top-three trading partner for 166 countries and regions, 14 more than the same period last year, signaling the deepening of its global economic integration.
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