From January to July, goods trade volume grew by 6.2 percent compared to the same period last year, measured in yuan. Exports saw a 6.7-percent increase, while imports rose by 5.4 percent, as reported by the General Administration of Customs (GAC).
Lyu Daliang, who heads the GAC's Statistics and Analysis Department, noted, "The Chinese economy has maintained stability since the year's start, with foreign trade showing consistent positive momentum. July marked the fourth consecutive month of over 5-percent year-on-year growth in China's foreign trade."
In U.S. dollar terms, China's goods trade totaled $3.5 trillion for the seven-month period. Exports amounted to $2.01 trillion, with imports reaching $1.49 trillion. The trade surplus expanded by 7.9-percent year-on-year to $518 billion.
ASEAN remained China's primary trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching 3.92 trillion yuan, a 10.5-percent increase from the previous year, comprising 15.8 percent of China's total foreign trade. The European Union, United States, and Korea followed in trade volume.
Trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative grew by 7.1 percent to 11.72 trillion yuan.
Mechanical and electrical products continued to dominate China's exports, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the total. Notable increases were seen in exports of automatic data processing equipment and components (11.6 percent), integrated circuits (25.8 percent), and automobiles (20.7 percent).
China's government work report outlines plans to enhance both the volume and quality of foreign trade, increase imports of high-quality goods, and support foreign trade enterprises in reducing costs and improving efficiency.