China: $6 trillion in foreign trade volume in 2024

China’s foreign trade in 2024 recorded record growth in trade volume, with the total value of imports and exports reaching 43.85 trillion yuan (about 5.98 trillion dollars), an annual increase of 5 percent.

The number of enterprises engaged in foreign trade reached an unprecedented level of about 700,000, while the volume of cross-border e-commerce grew by 10.8 percent to 2.63 trillion yuan.

Wang Lingjun, deputy director of the General Administration of Customs, confirmed at a press conference that China’s foreign trade achieved balanced growth in terms of quantity and quality last year, noting that the trade volume increased by 11.63 trillion yuan compared with 2020.

Data from the World Trade Organization showed that China’s share of international trade in the first three quarters of last year rose to 14.5 percent in exports and 10.5 percent in imports, an annual increase of 0.3 and 0.1 percentage points, respectively.

Exports of mechanical and electrical products grew by 8.7% to reach 59.4% of total exports, while exports of advanced equipment increased by more than 40%.

Modern technology products recorded remarkable growth, with exports of electric cars increasing by 13.1%, 3D printing machines by 32.8%, and industrial robots by 45.2%.

In terms of trade partnerships, trade with the “Belt and Road” countries exceeded 50% of China’s total foreign trade for the first time, achieving a growth of 6.4%.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) maintained its position as China’s largest trading partner for the fifth consecutive year, while trade with the BRICS countries grew by 5.5%.

Trade with traditional partners achieved positive growth, with trade with the European Union increasing by 1.6% and the United States by 4.9%.