Guangzhou (JLC), November 7, 2025--China's foreign trade grew 3.6% year on year to 37.31 trillion yuan (about 5.27 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first ten months of 2025, according to data from the General Administration of Customs of the PRC (GACC).
The country's exports grew 6.2% year on year to 22.12 trillion yuan, while imports were largely unchanged at 15.19 trillion yuan, according to the data.
In October alone, China’s foreign trade edged up 0.1% on a yearly basis to 3.70 trillion yuan. Exports edged down 0.8% to 2.17 trillion yuan, while imports increased 1.4% to 1.53 trillion yuan, maintaining growth for the fifth consecutive month.
In January-October, the country’s foreign trade by ordinary trade rose 2.3% to 23.64 trillion yuan, accounting for 63.4% of the total. Exports by this trade mode surged 6.4% to 14.47 trillion yuan, while imports declined 3.5% to 9.17 trillion yuan, the GACC data shows.
Processing trade increased 6.5% year on year to 6.94 trillion yuan, while trade through bonded logistics expanded 5.5% to 5.34 trillion yuan, the data indicates.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was China's largest trading partner with a total trade value of 6.18 trillion yuan, up 9.1% year-on-year and accounting for 16.6% of China's total foreign trade. The exports to the ASEAN surged 15.3% to 3.88 trillion yuan, while the imports from the organization virtually remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, the European Union ranked second with an aggregate trade value of 4.88 trillion yuan, a 4.9% increase, representing a 13.1% share of China's total foreign trade. The exports to the bloc gained 8.4% to 3.30 trillion yuan, while the imports from it fell 1.7% to 1.57 trillion yuan.
In contrast, China’s bilateral trade with the U.S. slumped 15.9% to 3.38 trillion yuan, making up 9% of the total. Exports to and imports from the U.S. dropped 17.1% and 11.9% respectively, according to the GACC data.
In this period, China's private enterprises, the pillar force in foreign trade, saw imports and exports hit 21.28 trillion yuan, up 7.2% year-on-year.
