On October 13, China's General Administration of Customs (GACC) released its third-quarter foreign trade report. It shows that from January to September 2025, China's total imports and exports hit 33.61 trillion yuan, which is up 4% compared to the same period last year. That's a bit faster—by half a percentage point—than the growth seen in the first eight months of the year.
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China’s trade has been picking up pace each quarter. Growth was just 1.3% in Q1, then jumped to 4.5% in Q2, and reached 6% in Q3. For eight straight quarters, both imports and exports have grown compared to the previous year. Each of these three quarters also saw trade volume go over 10 trillion yuan, which is a record high. In September alone, imports and exports hit 4.04 trillion yuan, up 8% from last year — the biggest September growth rate this year. Plus, both exports and imports have been rising year-over-year for four months straight.
China’s exports have managed to stay strong despite various pressures and challenges. In the first three quarters, exports hit 19.95 trillion yuan, growing 7.1% compared to last year, marking eight straight quarters of growth. On the import side, imports reached 13.66 trillion yuan, which is a tiny drop of 0.2% from last year. Although imports still lag behind exports, the decline has lessened by 1 percentage point compared to the first eight months. This shows that domestic demand is getting better as efforts to boost consumption are starting to pay off.
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When looking at "innovation intensity," stronger innovation skills have opened up new growth opportunities. In the first three quarters, China’s exports of high-tech products grew by 11.9% compared to the year before, making up over 30% of total export growth in that time. Within these exports, shipments of industrial robots jumped by a big 54.9%, and exports of wind power equipment also picked up a lot.
Private companies have really stepped up and taken on a key role from the main force's point of view. By the end of September this year, over 613,000 private businesses in China were actively involved in importing and exporting. Their trade volume reached 19.16 trillion yuan, up 7.8% compared to last year, and this steady growth has lasted for 22 straight quarters. Since the beginning of this year, private firms have been leading in trade growth compared to others. In the first three quarters, they made up 57% of China's total foreign trade, which is 2 percentage points higher than the same period last year.
From the "market circle" point of view, actively working to grow markets has helped reduce risks. Data from around the world shows that in the first seven months of this year, China ranked among the top three trading partners for 166 countries and regions, which is 14 more than the same time last year. Also, in the first three quarters, China’s trade with ASEAN, Latin America, Africa, and Central Asia went up by 9.6%, 3.9%, 19.5%, and 16.7%. At the same time, China approved 135 new types of agricultural and food products for export to 50 countries and regions.
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Wang Jun pointed out that the outside world still looks tough and complicated. Foreign trade faces more uncertainties and challenges than before. With last year’s strong baseline, it’ll take steady effort to keep foreign trade growing smoothly in the fourth quarter.
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