China's foreign trade continued to improve in quality and expand in scale with an upgraded trade structure in 2024, taking up a 14.5 percent share of the global export market, said an expert. In 2024, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remained China's largest trading partner, followed by the European Union. Exports to Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries also saw a steady growth.
Beyond the overall figures, China's foreign trade structure also presented several key highlights in 2024, with the country's cross-border e-commerce continuing double-digit growth, exports of mechanical and electrical products reaching record high, general trade exports accounting for more than 65 percent of total exports, and export of private enterprises witnessing a significant increase of around one percent.
"General trade is a vital indicator of the self-driven development of China's foreign trade. Its continued growth reflects that our foreign trade independence has improved. Meanwhile, the export growth of private enterprises is also significant, demonstrating the resilience of China's export," said Liang Ming, director of the Foreign Trade Institute under the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
Experts say newly released data indicates that China's foreign trade has been playing a growingly important role in global economy.
"We estimate that China's exports would take up 14.5 percent share of the global export market, up by 0.4 percentage points. This is close to China's record high. China has remained the largest driver of global export growth," said Liang.
Latest data from the World Trade Organization (WTO) showed that China's contribution to global export in the first three quarters of 2024 exceeded 30 percent.
China's 2024 foreign trade takes up 14.5 percent share of global export market, showing resilience: expert
