China's foreign trade achieved double-digit growth in the first half of the year despite uncertainties in international landscape, with the robust growth momentum characterized by a stabilized scale, new growth drivers, dynamic market entities, and deeper internal-external integration, said Wang Jun, deputy head of the General Administration of Customs (GAC), on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Wang used four sets of keywords, namely stability, innovation, dynamism and integration, to describe the robust development momentum of China's foreign trade in the first six months, echoing Chinese Premier Li Qiang's characterization of the broader Chinese economy at the Summer Davos forum in late June.
First, China's foreign trade expanded steadily in scale from January to June, the official said.
"In the first half of the year, China's total import and export value surpassed 25 trillion yuan (nearly 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars) for the first time on an biannual basis, marking an increase of 3.68 trillion yuan (542.6 billion U.S. dollars) compared with the same period of last year. Computed on a monthly basis, the figure exceeded 4 trillion yuan (589.8 billion U.S. dollars) for four consecutive months. According to the latest international data, China firmly holds the position of the world's largest trading nation in goods," Wang said.
Second, technological innovation, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), emerged as a powerful engine of China's foreign trade growth, according to Wang.
"In the first half of the year, imports and exports of computing hardware, such as electronic components and computer parts, reached 5.13 trillion yuan (756.4 billion U.S. dollars), surging 56.6 percent year on year. Smart consumer products such as AI-powered glasses, AI translators, and mechanical exoskeletons saw rapid iteration, with various innovative goods keeping emerging," the official said.
Third, Chinese foreign trade companies demonstrated remarkable adaptability and global outreach, expanding their business footprints to a greater number of other countries and regions, according to Wang.
"Compared with the same period of last year, some 267,000 foreign trade firms broke into new markets in the first half of the year, with their combined import and export value growing by 22.6 percent year on year. These companies accounted for nearly 70 percent of the country's total foreign trade value in the six-month period," he said.
And fourth, China continued to broaden its opening-up, having implemented zero-tariff policies for 63 other countries to foster shared development with trading partners, Wang said.
"In the first half of the year, China's imports from and exports to the signatories of 31 free trade agreements increased by 28.1 percent over the same period of last year, with these trading partners' share of China's total foreign trade rising to 46.5 percent. In the first six months, comprehensive bonded zones fully leveraged their unique functions and policy integration advantages in connecting domestic and international markets and resources, with their imports and exports reaching 4.34 trillion yuan (639.9 billion U.S. dollars), up 28.2 percent year on year," he said.
Despite the strong performance, Wang acknowledged that the external environment remains complex and volatile.
The official noted the World Bank has warned of multiple pressures facing the global economy, including rising energy prices, intensifying inflationary pressures, and anticipated monetary policy tightening. Global economic growth is projected to slow from 3.5 percent last year to 3 percent this year, while global trade in goods and services is expected to decelerate from 5 percent to 3.5 percent, according to International Monetary Fund forecasts.
Wang forecast certain pressures that could weigh on China's foreign trade in the second half of the year, while expressed confidence in the country's capability of sustaining the positive development momentum seen in the first six months, thanks to its strong innovation momentum, vibrant market entities, and a high level of openness.
Four sets of keywords capture strong performance of China's foreign trade in January-June: official
Doctoral students from the U.S. and China spent days together aboard a research vessel, collaborating on marine science projects and exchanges designed to foster deeper understanding and enduring friendships between the two countries' scientific communities.
In late March, 20 Chinese and U.S. students boarded a research vessel in Hong Kong, sailing via Ningbo to Shanghai as part of the "A Shared Voyage: China-U.S. Youth Friendship Program". Over 12 days, the students collaborated on marine science and cultural exchanges.
Since the launch of an initiative to invite 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span in November 2023, over 50,000 young Americans have visited China, achieving the target two-and-a-half years ahead of schedule.
Chinese and U.S. students who took part in the program wrote to Chinese President Xi Jinping in April, thanking him for the "50,000 in Five Years" initiative, which has provided valuable opportunities for young people of both countries to engage in learning and exchange.
To their surprise, Xi replied to the letter, encouraging the students to make new contributions to the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations.
In the letter, Xi said that the story of China-U.S. friendship is written by the people, and the future of China-U.S. relations is shaped by the youth.
"Hearing back from him was really crazy. I'd love for people to have more buy into what the project was all about, which was, shared friendship, shared science," said Benjamin Acosta, a Columbia University PhD student.
"He actually took the time to read our letter and even respond to it because I know he's very busy. I feel very honored," said Lesley Figueroa, a PhD student at UC Santa Barbara.
Chinese students also expressed gratitude for the opportunity to meet their U.S. counterparts and exchange ideas.
"We are truly grateful for the '50,000 in Five Years' initiative proposed by President Xi, which has offered young people from both China and the U.S. valuable opportunities for certainty in an otherwise turbulent international landscape. It's remarkable that we could come together aboard an American research vessel and carry out such meaningful scientific and cultural exploration in Chinese waters," said Niu Lishan, a PhD student at Tsinghua University.
Noting that young people, full of vitality and dreams, represent the future and hope of China-U.S. relations and of the world, Xi called on more Chinese and U.S. youth to take up the baton of friendship, learn from each other, progress together, and become "envoys of friendship" bridging the Pacific.
The voyage experience went beyond laboratories, allowing the future scientists to explore underwater robotics and water quality monitoring.
"I have never seen this many krill. It's really crazy. They've got a lot of larger species here, and that means that they probably have a lot of fish and other kinds of higher life forms that feed off this stuff. So it's probably the most productive waters I've seen," said Acosta.
"We learned to operate underwater robots for water quality sampling in shallow-water marine zones. We also collected samples firsthand and conducted related water quality monitoring and analysis," said Niu.
"I've never been on a ship before. I normally do, like I said, on smaller ships and in my lab by myself. With the greater community in this very high-tech environment and using a lot of instruments that I don't normally have access to, which is really incredible," said Meredith Kamm, another Columbia University PhD student.
"This kind of program plants a seed for future cooperation and exchange between China and the U.S., especially in areas such as marine science and climate change. It can help us work together to build a maritime community with a shared future," said Huang Wei, chief scientist of the voyage and researcher at the Second Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources.
In the letter, Xi noted that through these interactions, young people from both countries have reached out to each other, deepened mutual understanding, forged profound friendships, and opened a new chapter in friendly exchanges between the two peoples.
"I think the United States and China have some of the best researchers in the world. I hope to gain a different perspective in something I've never considered before by talking to these students and understanding how their research works," said Natalie Lafont, a PhD student at Harvard University.
The program also gave the students the chance to meet industry leaders and innovators in the field of ocean exploration. Vincent Pieribone, OceanX co-CEO and chief science officer, said he encouraged the students to always keep their determiniation steady even in the face of failure.
"Science is a tough business and failure is all over, and both sides see that happens. And it's great to bring people together over a common goal, which is ocean stewardship and ocean science and ocean exploration," said Pieribone.
In addition to personal connections, the U.S. students said they were highly impressed with the investments that Chinese universities have made toward ensuring their students and scholars can make an impact.
"I feel like most all the labs at these universities were very well equipped with, not just marine equipment, but research equipment. Students who are there can do multiple, like a variety of projects. My favorite one was the School of Marine Science at Ningbo University. Because we got to see the aquaculture tanks. So there was a lot of tanks and they had a variety of fish. It seems that they really take aquaculture and fisheries as a priority," said Figueroa.
Yet, the focus of the voyage always returned to building lasting ties with their fellow students. Ray Dalio, founder of U.S. Bridgewater Associates and one of the program's initiators, encouraged the participants to take a long-term view of the voyage's impact.
"What I'd love to see is that you develop those relationships and that you stay in touch as a foundation for our future collaborations and friendships because you have a shared passion. Wouldn't that be great? Not just this mission, but the future of your relationships would be great, and think about how that could expand," Dalio said.
"In the face of profound changes unseen in a century and a turbulent world, and confronted with emerging issues such as climate change and artificial intelligence, young people in China and the United States shoulder a special mission. They should strengthen exchanges and cooperation, carry forward China-U.S. friendship, and continue to advance the development of China-U.S. relations," said Geng Shuang, vice president of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, at the April closing ceremony.
China, U.S. marine science students strengthen ties through ocean voyage
