China's foreign trade has demonstrated robust momentum and a favorable start this year, with the total value of imports and exports continuing to rise, showcasing notable achievements in structural optimization and a shift in growth drivers. In the first quarter, the total value of goods trade reached 11.84 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15%, marking the highest quarterly growth rate in nearly five years.
Against the backdrop of profound adjustments in the global trade landscape, China is accelerating the pace of diversifying its foreign trade layout. According to customs data, in the first four months of this year, the total value of China's goods trade reached 16.23 trillion yuan, up 14.9% year-on-year. Trade with ASEAN totaled 2.75 trillion yuan, rising 15.7%, while trade with the EU reached 2.01 trillion yuan, increasing 13.2%. During the same period, total trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative amounted to 8.28 trillion yuan, a growth of 13.5%.
Experts point out that with the continued release of benefits from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the upgrade of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, and favorable conditions under the Belt and Road Initiative, coupled with proactive overseas expansion by private enterprises and the development of supporting trade driven by overseas industrial investments, China's diversification of foreign trade markets is accelerating.
The optimization of market expansion and structure is evident. The diversification of the foreign trade pattern is first reflected in the shift of market focus. Data shows that in the first four months, China's imports and exports with Belt and Road partner countries already exceeded 50% of the total foreign trade value. This proportion indicates that emerging markets are becoming a new growth pole for China's foreign trade, transforming from a cultivated sector in the past to an indispensable stabilizing force. Concurrently, China's dependence on single markets has significantly decreased, with China-U.S. trade value in the first four months falling 12.9% year-on-year.
From a regional perspective, ASEAN continues to be China's largest trading partner. In the first four months, the growth rate of China's trade with ASEAN outpaced the overall trade growth, with strong demand from countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Meanwhile, China-Africa trade volume reached a historical high, with imports and exports to African countries totaling 885.34 billion yuan in the first four months, a 19.4% increase year-on-year, surpassing 800 billion yuan for the first time in the same period historically. Imports from Africa grew 11.2%, maintaining year-on-year growth for eight consecutive months. Starting May 1st this year, China has fully implemented zero-tariff measures for 53 African countries with diplomatic ties, opening a new window for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.
The diversified development of the foreign trade pattern is not only an extension and expansion of market focus but also an upgrade in the quality of trade structure. In emerging markets like the Middle East and Central Asia, China's exports are shifting from traditional small commodities and daily consumer goods to higher value-added products such as automobiles, construction machinery, and the "new three" items (referring to new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products). First-quarter data shows that the value of China's automobile exports to Belt and Road partner countries accounted for nearly 60% of total automobile exports.
Simultaneously, China's industrial upgrade is driving the optimization of its import structure. In the first four months, China's cumulative imports of mechanical and electrical products reached 2.76 trillion yuan, a 23.6% increase year-on-year. This indicates that China occupies a middle position in the global value chain division of labor, establishing extensive connections with upstream and downstream enterprises. Mechanical and electrical products not only contribute significantly to exports but also play a positive role in imports, creating better conditions for the synergy of the global supply chain network.
The changes in market structure have injected strong resilience and vitality into China's foreign trade development. On one hand, proactively optimizing the global market structure can effectively hedge against downward pressure from weakening demand in traditional markets and rising trade barriers, continuously stabilizing the fundamental base of foreign trade and enhancing its resilience and risk resistance. On the other hand, diversification forces industrial transformation and upgrading, promoting the shift of China's export structure towards higher value-added products like mechanical and electrical goods and new energy, thereby enhancing the quality and scale of economic and trade cooperation with emerging markets and expanding new spaces for foreign trade growth, injecting lasting momentum into high-quality foreign trade development.
From a foreign trade perspective, this year, China's regional industrial foundations and advantages have been continuously unleashed. However, looking globally, the current economic and trade landscape is undergoing profound adjustments. Demand trends in developed economies are diverging, rules in emerging markets vary significantly, international competition is intensifying, and the shadows of trade protectionism and technological blockades have not dissipated. The structural differentiation of global external demand presents both a valuable window forcing industrial upgrades and unavoidable practical pressures. Opportunities and challenges, like two sides of the same coin, run through every aspect of foreign trade operations.
In the first four months, the total import and export value of the Yangtze River Delta region reached 6.14 trillion yuan, a record high for the same period historically, with a year-on-year growth of 15.9%. Among these, exports of integrated circuits and automobiles grew by 79.4% and 69.7% respectively, highlighting significant cluster effects in high-end manufacturing. The nine mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area achieved imports and exports of 3.37 trillion yuan, an increase of 18.4%, with Shenzhen's first-quarter import and export growth reaching 33.6%.
Foreign trade in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region continued its positive trend, with the three areas achieving a total import and export value growth of 12% year-on-year. From January to April, trade with Africa reached 140.44 billion yuan, up 15.5% year-on-year, further demonstrating the complementary advantages of China-Africa trade. During the same period, trade with other RCEP member countries grew by 23.4% year-on-year, with deep integration of industrial and supply chains injecting new momentum into regional coordinated development.
The slowdown in demand from traditional markets is acting as a catalyst for enterprises to deepen their focus on high-end manufacturing and green, low-carbon fields, pushing industries up the value chain. Strong infrastructure construction and consumer demand in emerging markets provide large-scale export opportunities for high-end manufacturing products and intermediate goods. Furthermore, new trade models are emerging, such as research and development going global and global production and sales. Domestic high-end manufacturing and industry standards are accelerating their outward expansion, and the upgrade in people's livelihood consumption is also boosting exports of goods like agricultural machinery, cold chain logistics, and food processing equipment.
However, the challenges behind these opportunities cannot be ignored. The increasing complexity of cross-border supply chain management, along with significant differences in regulatory systems, business environments, and exchange rate fluctuations across different countries and regions, also adds to the difficulty and cost of market adaptation. It is recommended to continuously and deeply advance the diversification of the foreign trade layout and cultivate emerging markets to hedge against downward pressure from traditional markets and stabilize the fundamental base of foreign trade. On the industrial side, it is crucial to strengthen competitive industries with high added value, such as new energy and high-end equipment, and continuously promote the optimization of the foreign trade product structure. At the same time, risk prevention and control must remain a constant focus, with tools like export credit insurance and exchange rate hedging being utilized effectively. In the longer term, only by proactively aligning with international economic and trade rules, guiding enterprises towards compliant operations, and enhancing core competitiveness can market trust be fundamentally won.
Belt and Road partner countries have become key regions for stabilizing China's foreign trade, with significant growth potential. As these countries accelerate their industrialization, digitalization, and green transformation processes, strong demand is being released across multiple sectors including power equipment, clean energy, the digital economy, and consumer goods, providing broad space for optimizing China's export structure and market diversification. From a regional perspective, ASEAN countries like Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, leveraging their advantages in undertaking industrial transfers, will continue to be China's primary trade cooperation regions. The Middle East and Central Asia will become new highlands for foreign trade growth. Against the backdrop of the global energy transition, demand related to clean energy such as photovoltaics, wind power, new energy vehicles, and energy storage is in a period of rapid growth. The proliferation of the digital economy is also driving export growth in areas like 5G, data centers, smart terminals, and industrial internet.
The performance on the import side is equally impressive. According to statistics, in the first four months, China's goods imports reached 6.9 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20%. Over a longer timeline, China's import scale reached 18.5 trillion yuan in 2025, making it the world's second-largest import market for 17 consecutive years. China has achieved import growth from over 130 countries and regions and has become a major export destination for nearly 80 countries.
Tropical fruits, coffee beans, and handicrafts from Belt and Road partner countries are increasingly enriching the choices of Chinese consumers. With market opening, products like sesame from Niger and coffee from Ethiopia are also reaching millions of households through China's vast e-commerce platforms and supply chain systems. This transcontinental "two-way奔赴" (mutual engagement) not only allows Chinese consumers to taste more global goods but also brings tangible income to farmers and enterprises in the countries of origin, achieving mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
The rise of emerging markets as a new growth pole for China's foreign trade is the result of the combined effects of policy, market, and industry. China's high-level opening-up continues to deepen, with policy dividends from the Belt and Road Initiative and RCEP being continuously released, constantly improving trade facilitation.
The expansion of demand in emerging markets complements the supply advantages of Chinese manufacturing, which is conducive to enterprises expanding orders, stabilizing employment, and promoting industrial upgrading. Relevant experts believe that diversifying the foreign trade layout not only helps expand China's economic growth space but also provides a more stable trade network and growth momentum for the world economy. Furthermore, expanding trade cooperation between China and more economies can enhance the stability of global industrial and supply chains, injecting certainty into world economic recovery.