On March 7, the General Administration of Customs released the foreign trade data for the first two months of this year.
According to statistics, in the first two months of 2025, the total value of China's goods trade imports and exports reached 6.54 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 1.2%. Among them, exports were 3.88 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.4%; imports were 2.66 trillion yuan, a decrease of 7.3%.
It is worth noting that although China's import and export growth rate declined slightly, the export scale reached a record high for the same period.
The director of the Statistical Analysis Department of the General Administration of Customs said that in the first two months, China's foreign trade operation was generally stable. Compared with last year, there were two fewer working days in the first two months of this year. After excluding the impact of non - comparable factors, the total value of imports and exports increased by 1.7%, fully reflecting the resilience of China's foreign trade development.
In the first two months of this year, the total value of China's goods trade imports and exports was 6.54 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 1.2%. (Picture source: Xinhua News Agency)
Exports of integrated circuits, automatic data processing equipment and other products showed double - digit growth.
According to the data released by the General Administration of Customs, in the first two months, China's exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 2.33 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.4%, accounting for 60% of the total export value. Among them, automatic data processing equipment and its parts were worth 217.68 billion yuan, an increase of 11.7%; integrated circuits were worth 180.44 billion yuan, an increase of 13.2%; mobile phones were worth 134.08 billion yuan, a decrease of 2.2%; automobiles were worth 116.02 billion yuan, an increase of 3.7%.
During the same period, the export of labor - intensive products was 608.13 billion yuan, a decrease of 8.2%, accounting for 15.7%. Among them, clothing and clothing accessories were worth 155.74 billion yuan, a decrease of 5.8%; textiles were worth 152.55 billion yuan, a decrease of 0.9%; plastic products were worth 108.98 billion yuan, a decrease of 7.3%. The export of agricultural products was 109.44 billion yuan, an increase of 4.2%.
An expert said that the high base of export volume from January to February 2024 would depress the year - on - year growth rate of export volume from January to February this year. The month - on - month data showed that the export volume from January to February increased by 60.9% compared with that in December last year, higher than the average month - on - month increase of 57.9% in the past ten years (excluding the abnormal data in 2020), indicating that the overall export momentum from January to February was relatively strong.
“First of all, the current external demand is generally stable with a slight weakening trend, but it still has a certain degree of resilience.” The expert further said that from January to February this year, South Korea's exports decreased by 4.8% year - on - year, and the growth rate dropped significantly compared with that in December last year. In the same period, Vietnam's exports increased by 8.3% year - on - year, and the growth rate was basically the same as that in December last year. In addition, the global manufacturing PMI index of JPMorgan Chase in January was 50.1%, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous month. This also shows from the side that the recent external demand still has resilience.
Secondly, from January to February, China's exports to the United States increased by 2.3% year - on - year, and the growth rate dropped by 2.6 percentage points compared with that in December last year, mainly affected by the high base in the same period of the previous year.
Another expert said that we can see that the export performance of China's “key” products is good. Products such as integrated circuits and automatic data processing equipment have maintained double - digit growth, indicating that China's export products are internationally competitive.
Private enterprises had imports and exports worth 3.69 trillion yuan.
Data showed that in the first two months of this year, private enterprises had imports and exports worth 3.69 trillion yuan, an increase of 2%, accounting for 56.4% of China's total foreign trade value, up 1.8 percentage points from the same period last year. Among them, exports were 2.5 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.6%, accounting for 64.2% of the total export value; imports were 1.19 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.7%, accounting for 45% of the total import value.
During the same period, the export of labor - intensive products was 608.13 billion yuan, a decrease of 8.2%, accounting for 15.7%. Among them, clothing and clothing accessories were worth 155.74 billion yuan, a decrease of 5.8%; textiles were worth 152.55 billion yuan, a decrease of 0.9%; plastic products were worth 108.98 billion yuan, a decrease of 7.3%. The export of agricultural products was 109.44 billion yuan, an increase of 4.2%.
The director of the Statistical Analysis Department of the General Administration of Customs said that as the largest entity in China's high - tech product imports and exports, private enterprises, driven by continuous policy support and independent innovation, will inject more new impetus into China's foreign trade development.
It was found that in 2024, the activity of China's foreign trade enterprises continued to increase, and the number of enterprises with import and export performance reached a record high. Among them, the imports and exports of private enterprises reached 24.33 trillion yuan, an increase of 8.8%, and the proportion in China's total foreign trade value continued to rise to 55.5%.
An industry insider previously thought that the current scale of private enterprises' foreign trade imports and exports has exceeded half of the total. It is expected that this scale will further increase this year, and the proportion is expected to rise from about 55% to 60%. Especially after the recent private enterprise symposium, private enterprises have entered a “spring” of development. The proportion of private enterprises' imports and exports is expected to exceed any previous period.
Looking forward, an expert thought that the impact of factors such as the United States' additional tariffs on exports may be further manifested in the short term. Judging from factors such as the current profits of export enterprises and the exchange rate trend, China's exports to the United States may experience a large - scale year - on - year negative growth in March.
It is worth noting that according to the data released by the General Administration of Customs, in the first two months of this year, China's imports and exports with ASEAN and the United States increased, while those with the EU and South Korea decreased.
In the first two months, ASEAN was China's largest trading partner. The total trade value between China and ASEAN was 1.03 trillion yuan, an increase of 4%, accounting for 15.8% of China's total foreign trade value. Among them, exports to ASEAN were 626.68 billion yuan, an increase of 6.8%; imports from ASEAN were 406.65 billion yuan, a decrease of 0.2%.
The EU was China's second - largest trading partner. The total trade value between China and the EU was 833.34 billion yuan, a decrease of 0.2%, accounting for 12.7%. Among them, exports to the EU were 568.26 billion yuan, an increase of 1.8%; imports from the EU were 265.08 billion yuan, a decrease of 4.3%.
The United States was China's third - largest trading partner. The total trade value between China and the United States was 733.67 billion yuan, an increase of 3.5%, accounting for 11.2%. Among them, exports to the United States were 543.13 billion yuan, an increase of 3.4%; imports from the United States were 190.54 billion yuan, an increase of 3.8%.