SCIO briefing on China's imports, exports in first 3 quarters of 2025

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Speakers:

Mr. Wang Jun, vice minister of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC)

Mr. Lyu Daliang, spokesperson of the GACC and director general of the Department of Statistics and Analysis of the GACC 

Chairperson:

Ms. Jia Huili, deputy director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO)

Date:

Oct. 13, 2025

Jia Huili:

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO). This is a regular briefing on China's economic data. Today, we have invited Mr. Wang Jun, vice minister of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), to brief you on China's imports and exports in the first three quarters of 2025 and to answer your questions. Also attending today's press conference is Mr. Lyu Daliang, spokesperson of the GACC and director general of the Department of Statistics and Analysis of the GACC.

Now, I'll give the floor to Mr. Wang for his introduction.

Wang Jun:

Thank you, Ms. Jia. Good morning, friends from the media. I'm delighted to meet you all. I will start by briefing you on the imports and exports of goods in the first three quarters of this year, and then my colleague and I will answer your questions.

Since the beginning of this year, under the strong leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, China's economy has maintained steady growth, achieving new results in high-quality development. Despite the complex external environment, China's foreign trade has forged ahead under pressure, sustaining positive growth momentum. According to statistics from the GACC, China's foreign trade of goods in the first three quarters of 2025 jumped 4% year on year to 33.61 trillion yuan. Specifically, exports grew by 7.1% to 19.95 trillion yuan, while imports fell by 0.2% to 13.66 trillion yuan. In September, imports and exports totaled 4.04 trillion yuan, increasing by 8%. Specifically, the trade performance can be characterized by five main features:

First, imports and exports have grown at a faster pace each quarter. In the first and second quarters, China's foreign trade grew by 1.3% and 4.5%, respectively, and the growth rate further increased to 6% in the third quarter, achieving year-on-year growth for eight consecutive quarters.

Second, the market has become increasingly diversified. In the first three quarters, China's trade with Belt and Road partner countries reached 17.37 trillion yuan, up by 6.2% and accounting for 51.7% of its total foreign trade, representing an increase of 1.1 percentage points. Trade with ASEAN, Latin America, Africa and Central Asia rose by 9.6%, 3.9%, 19.5% and 16.7%, respectively. Meanwhile, trade with other APEC economies grew by 2%.

Third, export products have become more advanced and their quality has improved. In the first three quarters, China's exports of mechanical and electrical products totaled 12.07 trillion yuan, up by 9.6% and accounting for 60.5% of total exports, an increase of 1.4 percentage points. Specifically, exports of high-tech products such as electronic information, high-end equipment, and instruments and apparatus increased by 8.1%, 22.4% and 15.2%, respectively. Exports of the "new trio" (namely, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products) and green products such as electric locomotives, all registered double-digit growth.

Fourth, imports have gradually picked up. With the effective release of domestic demand potential, imports increased by 0.3% year on year in the second quarter and accelerated to 4.7% in the third quarter. In the third quarter, the import volumes of crude oil and metal ores increased by 4.9% and 10.1% year on year, respectively, while the import value of measuring and testing instruments, as well as computers and communication equipment, increased by 9.3% and 8.9%, respectively.

Fifth, foreign trade entities have remained vibrant and active. In the first three quarters, the number of foreign trade enterprises with actual import and export activity in China reached 700,000, up by 52,000 from a year earlier. Among them, private enterprises numbered 613,000, with total trade of 19.16 trillion yuan, up by 7.8%; and foreign-invested enterprises totaled 80,000, with trade reaching 9.82 trillion yuan, up by 3.1%.

Overall, in the first three quarters, under the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, local governments and departments have worked hard and overcome difficulties, and foreign trade enterprises have actively adapted and innovated. China's foreign trade has demonstrated resilience and its structure has been optimized, achieving both quantitative growth and qualitative improvement — a result that has not been easy to achieve.

However, it is also important to recognize that the current external environment remains severe and complex, bringing increasing uncertainties and difficulties in the foreign trade sector. Coupled with high base figures from last year and other objective factors, maintaining stable growth in China's foreign trade in the fourth quarter will still require considerable effort.

The GACC will resolutely implement the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, further enhance regulatory efficiency to strengthen border security, further promote trade facilitation and improve service quality, and further deepen comprehensive reforms to support high-level opening up, making a contribution to stabilizing and improving both the volume and quality of foreign trade throughout the year.

That is all for my introduction. Thank you.

Jia Huili:

Thank you, Mr. Wang, for your introduction. The floor is now open for questions. Please identify the news outlet you work for before asking your question.