According to customs statistics, China’s total import and export of goods reached 25.47 trillion yuan in the first half of this year, rising 16.9% year-on-year. Exports stood at 14.73 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.4%, while imports hit 10.74 trillion yuan, growing by 22.1%.

In June alone, imports and exports amounted to 4.78 trillion yuan, climbing 24.2% year-on-year, marking the 17th consecutive month of growth.

On the export front, product structure kept improving. China’s exports of mechanical and electrical products totalled 9.36 trillion yuan in the first half, up 20.1%, accounting for 63.5% of total exports, a rise of 3.5 percentage points from the same period last year. Exports of high-tech products reached 3.26 trillion yuan, surging 39%.

On the import front, import growth outpaced export growth by 8.7 percentage points in the first half, facilitating balanced development of foreign trade. Imports of bulk commodities including energy products, mechanical and electrical products, and agricultural products rose by 3.4%, 28% and 8.6% respectively.

In terms of trade partners, China continued to consolidate its diversified markets. Trade with Belt and Road Initiative partner countries reached 12.97 trillion yuan in the first half, growing 14.8% and making up 50.9% of China’s total foreign trade volume. Trade with neighbouring countries hit 9.44 trillion yuan, an increase of 20.6%. Trade with Latin America and Africa rose by 16.2% and 19.6% respectively, while trade with the EU grew by 10.2%.

By type of business entities, all categories registered sound growth. Private enterprises posted imports and exports worth 14.53 trillion yuan, up 17%, representing 57% of the country’s total foreign trade. Foreign-invested enterprises and state-owned enterprises saw their import and export volumes increase by 17.1% and 16.8% respectively.

Overall, China achieved remarkable results in stabilising foreign trade scale and optimising trade structure in the first half of this year.