China posts record trade in 2025 as private firms lead growth

China's foreign trade hit a record high in 2025, supported by a more diversified market structure and resilient private enterprises, official data showed on Wednesday.

According to the General Administration of Customs, China's total goods trade—including imports and exports—reached 45.47 trillion yuan ($6.35 trillion) last year, up 3.8 percent from a year earlier. Exports rose 6.1 percent to 26.99 trillion yuan, while imports edged up 0.5 percent to 18.48 trillion yuan.

The headline figure marked a new all-time high, keeping China in the position of the world's largest goods trader, the data showed.

Trade with emerging markets continued to expand. China now conducts trade with more than 240 countries and regions, and registered import-export growth with 190 of them. Trade with Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries rose 6.3 percent to 23.6 trillion yuan, accounting for 51.9 percent of the total. Trade with ASEAN, Latin America and Africa climbed 8 percent, 6.5 percent and 18.4 percent, reaching 7.55 trillion yuan, 3.93 trillion yuan and 2.49 trillion yuan, respectively.

Exports shifted further toward higher-value and greener products. Shipments of high-tech goods rose 13.2 percent to 5.25 trillion yuan. Exports of China's three major tech-intensive green products—electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar panels—jumped 27.1 percent, while wind power equipment exports surged 48.7 percent. 

Imports remained on a recovery track despite falling global prices. From the second quarter onward, imports posted growth for three consecutive quarters. For the full year, imports of mechanical and electrical products rose 5.7 percent to 7.41 trillion yuan, with purchases of electronic components and computer parts up 9.7 percent and 20 percent.

Corporate participation in foreign trade also strengthened. More than 780,000 companies recorded import or export activity last year, with private firms continuing to act as the main growth driver. Private enterprises posted trade worth 26.04 trillion yuan, up 7.1 percent, raising their share of China's total trade to 57.3 percent.