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Other CategoriesIn 2025, China effectively responded to external shocks and challenges, coordinated the development of its "three pillars" of trade—goods, services, and digital trade—vigorously explored diversified markets, and promoted innovative trade development. The scale of trade reached a historic high, with the total annual import and export value of goods reaching 45.47 trillion yuan, marking a 3.8% increase.
This year, amidst a global economic slowdown and rising unilateralism and protectionism severely impacting the international economic order, China's imports and exports still achieved a relatively rapid growth of 3.8%. This marks the ninth consecutive year of growth, representing the longest span of continuous growth since China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).
At a press conference, Wang Zhihua, Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce, responded to a question from Yicai. He stated that China currently faces a profoundly complex and changing external environment, with strategic opportunities coexisting with risks and challenges, and an increase in uncertain and unpredictable factors. At the same time, it should be noted that China's economy has a solid foundation, numerous advantages, strong resilience, and great potential. Foreign trade development still possesses many favorable conditions.
Wang Zhihua outlined that in 2026, the Ministry of Commerce will anchor its efforts on the goals of improving quality and efficiency, striving to stabilize the fundamental base of foreign trade, and methodically advancing the opening of the services market, thereby contributing to a good start and solid first steps for the 15th Five-Year Plan period. It will strengthen policy tools, forming a comprehensive set of foreign trade policies to meticulously serve foreign trade enterprises and help them reduce costs and increase efficiency. Efforts will be made to enhance policy communication and interpretation, stabilize expectations, boost confidence, coordinate central and local government actions, and timely research and introduce new policies and innovative support measures.
In 2025, the trend towards diversified imports and exports in China became more pronounced, serving as a crucial support for the resilience of foreign trade. China conducted trade with 249 countries and regions. Among these, there were 14, 62, and 137 countries/regions with trade volumes exceeding one trillion, one hundred billion, and ten billion yuan respectively, an increase of 2, 6, and 10 from 2024. Simultaneously, imports and exports with over 190 countries and regions achieved growth. From the perspective of the five continents, China saw import and export growth with at least 60% of the countries and regions in each continent.
Looking at individual economies, China's top ten trading partners accounted for 47.7% of its total foreign trade value in 2025, a decrease of 2 percentage points from 2024, indicating a reduction in concentration and a move towards greater balance. Imports and exports with Belt and Road partner countries grew by 6.3%, accounting for 51.9% of the total import and export value. Trade with ASEAN, Latin America, and Africa grew by 8%, 6.5%, and 18.4% respectively.
Wang Zhihua stated that in 2026, efforts will be made to expand into diversified markets. Support for enterprises to participate in overseas exhibitions will be increased, a series of trade promotion activities will be held, the 139th and 140th sessions of the Canton Fair will be successfully organized, and enterprises will be encouraged to make good use of country-specific trade guides and foreign trade promotion information to better connect with markets.
Services trade and digital trade are new growth drivers for China's foreign trade. Statistics show that from January to November 2025, China's total services import and export value reached 7202.37 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.1%. Specifically, exports amounted to 3198.01 billion yuan, growing by 13.4%; imports were 4004.36 billion yuan, up by 2.5%; resulting in a services trade deficit of 806.35 billion yuan.
Wang Zhihua indicated that in 2026, services trade will be vigorously developed. This will involve improving the management system for the negative list of cross-border services trade, methodically advancing the opening of the services market, and establishing national demonstration zones for innovative development of services trade. Efforts will focus on expanding the export of competitive producer services, promoting the agglomerated development of services trade such as intellectual property and human resources, encouraging professional service institutions in design, consultancy, finance, accounting, law, etc., to enhance their international service capabilities, and encouraging the export of traditional advantageous services like Chinese language education, traditional Chinese medicine, and Chinese cuisine. Policies and measures to expand inbound consumption will be introduced.
imultaneously, digital trade will be innovatively developed. This includes initiating the construction of national demonstration zones for digital trade, formulating standards related to digital trade and promoting compatibility between domestic and international standards, promoting the digital transformation of service outsourcing, and fostering and expanding the entities engaged in digital trade. The Global Digital Trade Expo will be successfully held to build an international platform for global exhibitors and buyers to discuss cooperation and promote common development.
