A West Basin Container Terminal (WBCT) crane unloads a Yang Ming cargo shipping container from a container ship at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California on April 10, 2025. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
BEIJING: China’s foreign trade recorded steady performances in the first quarter of 2025, with total goods trade volume growing by 1.3% year-on-year to 10.3 trillion yuan (US$1.41 trillion), according to data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC).
China’s total imports and exports reached a record high for the same period between January and March, exceeding 10 trillion yuan for the eighth consecutive quarter.
In March alone, the country’s foreign trade rose by 6% year-on-year.
The foreign trade data was announced amid a new round of trade tensions, with the United States recently raising tariffs on several trading partners, including China.
Exports rose 6.9% from the same period last year to reach 6.13 trillion yuan in the first quarter, while imports went down 6% year-on-year to 4.17 trillion yuan, according to customs data.
The administration said that China’s foreign trade with economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) grew faster than the overall foreign trade.
China’s export and import value with countries and regions involved in the BRI totalled 5.26 trillion yuan in the first quarter, up by 2.2% on a yearly basis, about 0.9 percentage points higher than the overall trade growth, accounting for 51.1% of the nation’s total foreign trade.
China’s foreign trade with the Asean soared 7.1% year-on-year to 1.71 trillion yuan from January to March, statistics from the administration showed.
In the meantime, China’s private businesses achieved a foreign trade value of 5.85 trillion yuan, up 5.8% on a yearly basis, accounting for 56.8% of the country’s total export and import value, which is an increase of 2.4 percentage points from the same period last year.
China’s exports of electromechanical products amounted to 5.29 trillion yuan in the first three months, marking a 7.7% increase year-on-year, said the GAC. — China Daily/ANN
