Amid a marked rise in external uncertainties during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), China's foreign trade withstood challenges by expanding the list of trading partners and further securing supply chains, with the country ranking among the top three trading partners for 157 countries and regions in the world, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said on Monday.
"We firmly uphold the multilateral trading system, oppose unilateralism, and fight against bullying. Our 'circle of friends' is growing, and the path to trade diversification is becoming wider," said GAC head Sun Meijun at a press conference reviewing the country's trade achievements during the period.
A total of 519 cooperation documents were signed between Chinese customs authorities and their foreign counterparts, and mutual Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) agreements covering 57 countries and regions were inked, reflecting growing collaboration, the commissioner noted.
Meanwhile, import sources have also diversified, with market access granted to 271 types of agricultural and food products from 81 additional countries and regions during the period. Imports of bulk commodities, advanced equipment, and key components now come from a broader range of sources in the world.
The GAC official noted that in 2024, China's trade with the Belt and Road partner countries reached 22 trillion yuan ($3.07 trillion), accounting for more than half of its total foreign trade. Trade with emerging market economies - including ASEAN, Latin America, Africa, and Central Asia - grew by more than 10 percent.
Chinese analysts said amid an increasingly complex international trade landscape marked by rising protectionism and unilateralism during the past several years, Chinese foreign trade companies, under the guidance and support of the government, acted proactively to diversify their markets, maintaining stable exports growth while ensuring security of imports by working with more suppliers.
Zhang Sixin, general manager of Xinjiang Zhonghuan Logistics Co in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, told the Global Times on Monday that by keeping up with the more traditional markets and opening up new markets, his business of exporting agricultural products has seen fast growth in recent years.
"There has been enhanced trade facilitation measures between China and Central Asian countries that empowered our business," Zhang said, adding that trade between China and Central Asian markets is highly complementary for fruits and vegetables.
By diversifying trade network and economic exchanges with a growing number of countries and regions, Xinjiang saw its foreign trade volume hit 321.02 billion yuan in the first seven months of 2025, marking a robust year-on-year increase of 27.3 percent, local customs showed.
GAC's Sun also highlighted innovations in regulatory models for new business forms such as cross-border e-commerce, overseas warehousing, and "bonded-plus" activities, which have promoted coordinated development. These measures have accelerated the growth of new drivers in foreign trade and strengthened the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains.
And, exports are increasingly innovation-driven, with shipment value of the so-called "new three" products - electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products - in 2024 growing 2.6 times compared to 2020.
The regional structure of foreign trade in China has also improved, with eastern or coastal provinces having stabilized export volume while upgrading quality, while central and western regions having gained new momentum, achieving an average annual growth rate of 7.9 percent.
From 2021 to 2025, China refurbished or expanded 40 ports, bringing the total to 311. This has formed a multi-dimensional port layout spanning land, sea, and air, covering eastern, central, and western regions of the country.
Sun Chuanwang, a professor at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Monday that the resilience of supply chains has been enhanced during the past several years.
"By systematically expanding the range of countries and product categories granted market access, China has effectively reduced its reliance on single markets and specific products, significantly improved its ability to withstand disruptions from international supply chain fluctuations and geopolitical risks, and fostered a risk-diversified and channel-diversified supply structure for its foreign trade," Sun said.
The Xiamen-based expert said expanding market access is not merely a matter of opening up but involves actively participating in the formulation of international standards and multilateral or bilateral rules on the basis of continuously deepening trade cooperation in goods with multiple countries.
This contributes to building a fairer and more inclusive global economic governance system, he noted.
In the first seven months, China's total imports and exports reached 25.7 trillion yuan, up 3.5 percent year-on-year. Exports grew 7.3 percent to reach 15.3 trillion yuan.
Last week, China's Foreign Ministry and China's Ministry of Commerce hailed the stable development of foreign trade amid the external growing risks and challenges, vowing that the country will continue opening-up and sharing development opportunities with the world.
China's foreign trade companies weathered global headwinds during the first seven months by exploring new markets, rolling out new products and opening up new channels, Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) spokesperson He Yongqian told a press briefing on Thursday, commenting on the steady performance of Chinese foreign trade.
China will remain committed to expanding high-level opening-up, focusing on its own development, and addressing various uncertainties with the certainty of high-quality development, the spokesperson said, adding that China has the confidence and capacity to safeguard stability and quality in foreign trade, working with more trading partners to tackle challenges and share development opportunities.
"Chinese products are renowned worldwide for their quality, and China's diversified and stable markets are widely welcomed. No tariff war or trade war can change that," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday while commenting on China's recent economic data and certain analysis that China's trade sector will continue to be under pressure amid tariff and other external impacts.
Mao added that China will continue to share development opportunities with the world while upholding openness, cooperation, and mutual benefit.
(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
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