40 years of opening-up have greatly reshaped China's foreign trade. So where is the country standing now? And has China become a larger contributor to global trade? Take a look.

Last year, China's overall foreign trade volume topped four trillion US dollars -- that's almost 50 times more from 40 years ago. China has also become the number one trader globally, with imports and exports accounting for about 10 percent of world's total -- up from less than one percent in 1978. The country continues to be the world's largest exporter and second largest importer since 2009. It also climbed up the global trade value chain from a low-end processor to a supplier of technologies and business models.

China is a firm supporter of free trade, as certain economies ramp up protectionist policies. China has become the number one trading partner to over 120 countries and regions since it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, adding millions of jobs around the world. The country purchased an additional 580 billion US dollars worth of goods overseas in the past decade. That accounted for nearly 20 percent of the world's total import increase since the 2008 financial crisis.