China's foreign trade up 1.3% in the first quarter of 2025

Export-bound vehicles await shipment at Taicang Port, Jiangsu province. (JI HAIXIN/FOR CHINA DAILY)

China's foreign trade recorded steady performances in the first quarter of 2025, with total goods trade volume growing by 1.3 percent year-on-year to 10.3 trillion yuan ($1.41 trillion), data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday.

China’s total imports and exports reached a record high for the same period between January and March, exceeding 10 trillion yuan for the eighth consecutive quarter. In March alone, the country’s foreign trade rose by 6 percent year-on-year.

The foreign trade data comes amid a new round of trade tensions, with the United States recently raising tariffs on several trading partners, including China.

Exports rose 6.9 percent from the same period last year to reach 6.13 trillion yuan in the first quarter, while imports went down 6 percent year-on-year to 4.17 trillion yuan, according to customs data.

The administration said that China’s foreign trade with economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative grew faster than the overall foreign trade.

China’s export and import value with countries and regions involved in the BRI totaled 5.26 trillion yuan in the first quarter, up by 2.2 percent on a yearly basis, about 0.9 percentage points higher than the overall trade growth, accounting for 51.1 percent of the nation’s total foreign trade.

China’s foreign trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations soared 7.1 percent year-on-year to 1.71 trillion yuan from January to March, statistics from the administration showed.

In the meantime, China's private businesses achieved a foreign trade value of 5.85 trillion yuan, up 5.8 percent on a yearly basis, accounting for 56.8 percent of the country's total export and import value, which is an increase of 2.4 percentage points from the same period last year.

China's exports of electromechanical products amounted to 5.29 trillion yuan in the first three months, marking a 7.7 percent increase year-on-year, said the GAC.