China's foreign trade grows 3.5 percent in first seven months of 2025
(ECNS) -- China's total imports and exports of goods rose 3.5% year-on-year to 25.7 trillion yuan ($3.6 trillion) in the first seven months of 2025, official data showed Thursday.
The growth rate accelerated from an increase of 2.9% registered in the first half of the year, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).
Imports and exports with ASEAN countries, the EU, Africa, and Central Asia grew by 9.4%, 3.9%, 17.2%, and 16.3%, respectively, the GAC said.
It noted that over the past two decades, China's development model has become increasingly green and low-carbon, with foreign trade driven by innovation and sustainability. Meanwhile, accelerated development of new, quality productive forces has revitalized traditional industries and expanded emerging sectors.
In the first seven months of this year, China's imports and exports of high-tech products reached 5.1 trillion yuan, marking a growth rate of 8.4% and contributing 45.4% to the country's total import and export growth during the same period, according to the GAC.
Private enterprises remain the mainstay in stabilizing foreign trade, it stressed. In the first seven months, China's private enterprises recorded imports and exports worth 14.68 trillion yuan, marking a 7.4% increase and accounting for 57.1% of the country's total foreign trade volume, up 2.1 percentage points year-on-year.
In addition, since the release of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in February 2019, the cumulative total import and export value of the nine Chinese mainland cities in the area has exceeded 50 trillion yuan, reaching 50.67 trillion yuan. In this period, these nine cities recorded imports and exports worth 5.2 trillion yuan, representing a 7.4% increase year-on-year.
(By Zhang Dongfang)