China’s Jan-Feb exports hit record high

Despite external challenges, China’s foreign trade demonstrated solid performance, structural improvements and resilience in the first two months of 2025, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

Total goods trade value reached 6.54 trillion yuan (about US$ 912.07 billion) during this period, reflecting a moderate decrease of 1.2% from a year earlier, the data showed.

Lyu Daliang, Director of the GAC’s Department of Statistics and Analysis, said China’s foreign trade remained “generally stable” in the January-February period, as various regions and departments actively responded to adverse effects resulting from the external environment.

After excluding the impact of incomparable factors, China’s total goods imports and exports grew by 1.7% year-on-year in the first two months of 2025, fully demonstrating the resilience of China’s foreign trade development, Lyu noted as quoted by Xinhua.

Exports rose 3.4% from the same period last year to reach 3.88 trillion yuan, while imports dropped by 7.3% to 2.66 trillion yuan, the data revealed.

China’s exports continued to show structural improvements in the first two months. Exports of mechanical and electrical products, which accounted for 60% of the total export value, rose 5.4% to reach 2.33 trillion yuan during this period.

Improvements in production and demand in the domestic manufacturing sector, meanwhile, spurred growth in imports of related products in the first two months of 2025, the GAC said.

ASEAN remained China’s largest trading partner in the first two months of 2025. During this period, trade between China and ASEAN countries reached a total of 1.03 trillion yuan -- or 15.8% of China’s overall trade value, the GAC said.

WAM