An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 13, 2025 shows vehicles ready to be exported at Longtan Container Terminal of Nanjing Port, east China's Jiangsu Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's foreign trade powered ahead for high-quality growth in the first nine months of this year despite increasing external headwinds, injecting stability and vitality into the global trade landscape, official data showed on Monday.

China's total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms rose to 33.61 trillion yuan (about 4.73 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first nine months of 2025, up 4 percent year on year, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

The growth rate accelerated from an increase of 3.5 percent registered in the first eight months of the year.

Goods exports led the overall expansion during the January-September period, surging 7.1 percent year on year to 19.95 trillion yuan, while imports stood at 13.66 trillion yuan, a slight decrease of 0.2 percent.

In September alone, China's goods imports and exports increased by 8 percent year on year to 4.04 trillion yuan -- marking the highest monthly increase so far this year.

A customer purchases imported fruits at a market near the Dongxing port in Dongxing, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 17, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Strong resilience

Since the beginning of 2025, the global economy has faced increasing instability and uncertainty, with unilateralism and protectionism on the rise, laying pressure on China's foreign trade sector, deputy GAC head Wang Jun said at a press conference on Monday.

Against this backdrop, China's foreign trade has sustained its strong resilience and vitality, maintaining a steady, positive development trend, he noted.

The expansion of China's goods trade has accelerated quarter by quarter, with the growth rate amounting to 6 percent in the third quarter of this year, following 1.3-percent and 4.5-percent increases in the first and second quarters, respectively, Wang said. Additionally, China's foreign trade market has become more diversified.

In the first nine months, China's goods trade with Belt and Road partner countries totaled 17.37 trillion yuan -- 6.2 percent higher than a year earlier, GAC data revealed.

Trade with ASEAN, Latin America, Africa and Central Asia grew by 9.6 percent, 3.9 percent, 19.5 percent and 16.7 percent year on year, respectively, while that with other economies in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation increased by 2 percent.

China has maintained its position as the world's largest goods trader, international data has shown, Wang said.

During the January-July period, China was among the top three trading partners of 166 countries and regions worldwide, which was an increase of 14 compared to the same period last year, according to Wang.

With the continuous development of new quality productive forces and the upgrading of key industries, China has created an optimized export-product structure, he said.

In the first three quarters, China's exports of industrial robots increased 54.9 percent year on year, and its exports of high-tech products such as electronic information goods, high-end equipment, and instruments and meters increased 8.1 percent, 22.4 percent, and 15.2 percent.

Wang noted that despite a lingering complex external environment, the confidence of China's foreign trade firms remains upbeat.

A recent survey conducted by China's customs authorities has shown that a confidence index tracking the country's export companies has risen for five consecutive months, and another tracking import enterprises has increased for three consecutive months.

This photo shows the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), the main venue for the 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE), in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 4, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

Global market opportunities

As the world's second-largest goods import market, China's market presents significant opportunities for the rest of the world, Lyu Daliang, director of GAC's Department of Statistics and Analysis, told the press conference.

Lyu noted that certain countries have abusively imposed additional tariffs this year, undermining the multilateral trading system and disrupting the global trade order. He said that China has always firmly supported and upheld the multilateral trading system, promoting the stability and smooth operations of global industrial and supply chains, thereby injecting certainty and stability into global economic growth.

With the unleashing of domestic demand, the growth of China's goods imports has accelerated, rising 4.7 percent year on year in the third quarter, following the 0.3 percent increase recorded in the previous quarter.

In September alone, China's goods imports increased 7.5 percent year on year, the GAC data showed.

Lyu said that in the first three quarters, China approved market access for 135 new agricultural and food products from 50 countries and regions.

In particular, its imports from the least-developed countries with which it has diplomatic ties saw a 9.7 percent increase, due to the implementation of its zero-tariff policy.

With the removal of restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, imports made by foreign-invested enterprises in China rose 1.1 percent during the period.

China is also advancing the implementation of a zero-tariff treatment to 100 percent of tariff lines for 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations, according to Lyu.

And as the eighth China International Import Expo is slated to take place in Shanghai next month, more products from all over the world are set to enter the Chinese market, he added.