​SCIO briefing on China's imports, exports in H1 2025

Jinan Times APP:

Since private enterprises are the driving force behind China's foreign trade, what are the highlights of their import and export performance? What measures has the GACC taken to support private businesses? Thank you.

Wang Lingjun:

Thank you for your questions. General Secretary Xi Jinping encouraged private enterprises to unswervingly follow the path of high-quality development at the symposium on private enterprises. Since the beginning of this year, a series of key policy measures to support private enterprise development have significantly boosted business confidence. In foreign trade, private enterprises have achieved noteworthy high-quality development. In the first half of the year, private enterprises recorded imports and exports of 12.48 trillion yuan, up 7.3% year on year, accounting for 57.3% of China's total foreign trade, an increase of 2.3 percentage points from the same period last year. Both exports and imports posted growth. Here are the specifics.

First, private enterprises continued to lead foreign trade growth. By the second quarter of this year, China's private enterprises had posted year-on-year import and export growth for 21 consecutive quarters, consistently maintaining leading growth rates. Especially since the beginning of this year, private enterprises have overcome adverse external economic conditions, with their import and export volume in the first six months exceeding 12 trillion yuan for the first time in history for this period, posting a growth rate 4.4 percentage points higher than the national average.

Second, private enterprises' innovation momentum continued to strengthen. Private enterprises are adhering to the path of high-quality development, strengthening independent innovation, and accelerating industrial upgrading. In the first half of the year, private enterprises accounted for more than 80% of specialized and innovative "little giant" enterprises with import and export activities. Private enterprises' exports of high-tech products increased 12.5%. At the same time, private enterprises actively promoted equipment renewal and upgrading, and imports of high-end petrochemical and electronics equipment also maintained strong growth rates.

Third, private enterprises strengthened their development foundations. Private enterprises remained focused on their core businesses and strengthened their industrial operations, continuously optimized industrial structures and significantly enhanced corporate strength. In the first half of the year, equipment manufacturing products accounted for half of private enterprises' exports, with high-value manufactured products such as ships, automobiles and special equipment all achieving double-digit export growth. Having weathered the storm in international markets, private enterprises have become more resilient and dynamic. In the first half of the year, private enterprises occupied 218 positions among China's top 500 import and export companies.

Customs will continue to steadily implement various policies to promote private economic development. We will continuously strengthen services in areas such as customs clearance facilitation, inspection and quarantine, fair law enforcement, and rights protection. We will focus on resolving urgent and difficult problems that private enterprises face in import and export clearance. These efforts will promote the healthy and high-quality development of the private economy.

Thank you.