Facing a complex environment, China's foreign trade broke through the pressure in 2025, delivering a performance marked by simultaneous growth in both volume and quality. According to official data, China's total import and export value reached 45.47 trillion yuan (Renminbi) in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 3.8%, setting a new record high. Exports amounted to 26.99 trillion yuan, growing by 6.1% compared to the previous year. Wang Jun, Vice Minister of the General Administration of Customs, highlighted that this represents the ninth consecutive year of growth for China's imports and exports, also marking the longest sustained growth period since the country joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). Against a backdrop of diverging global economic growth momentum and rising trade protectionism, this achievement underscores the resilience of China's foreign trade, with the optimization and upgrading of its trade structure playing a key role. On one hand, high-tech and sophisticated products are leading the gradual climb of foreign trade towards the higher end of the value chain. Data shows that China's exports of high-tech products reached 5.25 trillion yuan last year, a surge of 13.2% year-on-year, contributing 2.4 percentage points to the overall export growth. Notably, exports of industrial robots surpassed imports for the first time, making China a net exporter of industrial robots. On the other hand, a diversified market layout has further enhanced the risk resistance of foreign trade. In 2025, China engaged in trade with 249 countries and regions globally, with import and export volumes growing with over 190 of them. From a continental perspective, trade with at least 60% of the countries and regions on each of the five continents achieved growth. The latest international data indicates that in the first three quarters of last year, China had become the primary export destination for 79 countries and regions, an increase of three compared to the full year of 2024. Analysts suggest that trade diversification will remain a long-term strategy for China to navigate changes in the external environment. However, regarding the challenges for China's foreign trade this year, Wang Jun's assessment is that the situation "remains severe and complex." He pointed out that 2026 will see an increase in unpredictable and uncertain factors in the external environment, and the pressure to stabilize foreign trade remains significant. A report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) mentioned that due to global economic slowdown, geopolitical fragmentation, persistent policy uncertainties, heightened vulnerabilities, and rising trade costs, global trade growth is expected to be more sluggish in 2026. The WTO's latest Global Trade Outlook report also significantly revised down its growth forecast for global merchandise trade in 2026 to a mere 0.5%. Facing this "high-pressure test" from the external environment, how to consolidate advantages and break through barriers has become a crucial test for China's foreign trade in the future. According to information released by officials, efforts to stabilize foreign trade will be strengthened this year. The recently held National Commerce Work Conference stated that in 2026, China will promote innovative development in trade, optimize and upgrade goods trade, vigorously develop service trade, encourage service exports, foster innovative development in digital trade and green trade, and promote the integration of trade and investment. The newly revised Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China is set to take effect on March 1 this year. This law elevates several previously implemented reform measures to the status of legal institutions, for instance, explicitly implementing a negative list management system in the cross-border service trade sector, further demonstrating the commitment to high-level opening up. "Despite numerous uncertainties, China's role in the global industrial and supply chains remains crucial," said Zhou Mi, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce. He added that domestic enterprises are actively adopting new technologies and exploring new products and fields, which will continuously enhance the competitiveness of "Chinese supply." Furthermore, China's continuous expansion of opening up helps enterprises better explore emerging markets, suggesting that China's foreign trade is still expected to maintain stable growth in the future. From the perspective of the General Administration of Customs, a series of policies to stabilize foreign trade, the potential of a super-large market, and a complete industrial system were key factors supporting the steady growth of foreign trade last year, and they will continue to be important pillars for stabilizing the fundamentals of China's foreign trade. Wang Jun mentioned that China's institutional, market, industrial system, and talent advantages are becoming more pronounced, trade partnerships are more diversified, and risk resistance has significantly strengthened, providing a stable expectation for the continued positive trajectory of China's foreign trade and injecting more certainty into global economic and trade development.
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