Growth of 2.9%! The total import and export value of China's goods trade in the first half of the year was 21.79 trillion yuan.
24-07-2025
The half-yearly report on China's foreign trade for 2025 was released on July 14. According to customs statistics, in the first half of this year, the total value of China's goods trade imports and exports reached 21.79 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.9%, which was 0.4 percentage points faster than that in the first five months. Among them, exports amounted to 13 trillion yuan, up by 7.2%; imports stood at 8.79 trillion yuan, down by 2.7%.
Wang Lingjun, Vice Minister of the General Administration of Customs, stated at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office that China's foreign trade has forged ahead amid pressure in the first half of this year, with stable growth in scale and improved quality, and such achievements are hard-won. Specifically, there are the following five main characteristics:
Stable growth in foreign trade scale. In the first half of the year, China's import and export scale stood firm at the 20-trillion-yuan mark, hitting a record high for the same period in history. From the perspective of quarterly trends, imports and exports in the second quarter grew by 4.5% year-on-year, 3.2 percentage points faster than that in the first quarter, maintaining year-on-year growth for seven consecutive quarters.
A more diversified "circle of friends" in foreign trade. In the first half of the year, China's imports and exports to countries along the Belt and Road Initiative reached 11.29 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.7%, accounting for 51.8% of the total import and export value, which was 0.9 percentage points higher than the same period last year. Among them, imports and exports to ASEAN amounted to 3.67 trillion yuan, a growth of 9.6%. During the same period, imports and exports to the EU, South Korea, Japan and other countries also achieved growth.
Export momentum shifting towards high quality and new sectors. In the first half of the year, China's exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 7.8 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.5%, accounting for 60% of the total export value, which was 1.2 percentage points higher than the same period last year. Among them, exports of high-end equipment closely related to new productive forces increased by more than 20%, and exports of "new three" products representing green and low-carbon development grew by 12.7%.
Expanding domestic demand driving imports to stabilize. With the continuous implementation of policies such as "two priorities" and "two news", imports turned to positive growth in the second quarter. In the first half of the year, imports of mechanical equipment for petrochemical, textile and other industries in China all achieved double-digit growth; imports of key components such as electronic parts grew rapidly; and imports of important raw materials such as crude oil and metal ores increased in volume.
Continuous release of vitality of foreign trade entities. In the first half of the year, the number of foreign trade enterprises with import and export performance in China reached 628,000, exceeding 600,000 for the first time in the same period in history, an increase of 43,000 compared with the same period last year. Among them, there were 547,000 private enterprises, with imports and exports growing by 7.3%, accounting for nearly 60% of the total import and export value.
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