In the first 8 months of this year, China's total import and export value was 27.08 trillion yuan (about $3.7 trillion), representing a slight decrease of 0.1 percent compared to the previous year, according to a report released by China's customs Thursday.

Lyu Daliang, a spokesperson for the General Administration of Customs, mentioned that against the backdrop of sluggish global economic and trade growth, China's exports have continued to grow for the first 8 months of this year, and the global market share has remained stable. He added that the export volume rebounded to over 2 trillion yuan in July and saw further expansion in August, marking three consecutive months of MoM growth, demonstrating strong resilience.

In August alone, China's imports and exports amounted to 3.59 trillion yuan, showing an increase of 3.9 percent. Monthly imports and exports have demonstrated a stable trend.

Lyu highlighted that in August, the import and export volume reached nearly 3.6 trillion yuan, marking an 8.2 percent increase compared to the average for the same period from 2020 to 2022, indicating the overall stability of China's foreign trade operations.

With the comprehensive implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) this year, China's foreign trade network continues to expand.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was China's largest trading partner in the January-August period this year, with a total trade value of 4.11 trillion yuan, reflecting an increase of 1.6 percent, and accounting for 15.2 percent of China's total foreign trade. The European Union (EU), the U.S., and Japan, ranked as the second to fourth largest trading partners, with total trade values of 3.68 trillion yuan, 3.05 trillion yuan, and 1.45 trillion yuan, respectively. China's trade in goods with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative reached 12.62 trillion yuan in the first 8 months of the year, representing a 3.6 percent year-on-year increase.

Private enterprises, which significantly contribute to China's foreign trade, witnessed a 6 percent year-on-year growth in their combined imports and exports, reaching 14.33 trillion yuan. This value accounted for 52.9 percent of the country's total and contributed to an overall growth of foreign trade by 3 percentage points.