21st Century Business Herald:

You just mentioned that the number of business entities with import and export records in China reached 780,000 in 2025. Could you please share the specific characteristics and highlights regarding the trade performance of these various types of entities? Thank you.

Wang Jun:

Thank you for your question. In 2025, foreign trade entities rose to the challenge and forged ahead with determination. With their growing internal driving momentum and innovation potential, they jointly supported steady growth and higher quality in China's foreign trade.

Regarding private enterprises, the CPC Central Committee convened a symposium on private enterprises last year, and the Private Sector Promotion Law was officially implemented. These moves accelerated the release of various policy dividends, effectively stimulating the vitality of private enterprises. In 2025, private enterprises showed stronger innovative momentum and growing strength. Their share of China's total foreign trade rose 1.8 percentage points to 57.3%. Their exports of high-tech products increased 14.8%, with high-end equipment surging 26.9%, to account for nearly 60% of the national total. From offshore equipment to low-altitude aircraft, private enterprises are acting as pioneers across the board. They now account for more than 70% of the total trade value generated by China's "little giant" firms — companies recognized for their specialized and sophisticated technologies. In emerging business models, exports by private enterprises under the market procurement trade model rose 9.2%.

As for foreign enterprises, China remains an attractive and competitive destination for global businesses, offering an ideal, secure and promising environment for investment. A recent survey of multinational corporations conducted by relevant institutions shows that more than 90% of respondents plan to continue investing in China, indicating that foreign investor confidence in the Chinese market remains solid. In 2025, imports and exports by foreign-invested enterprises reached 13.27 trillion yuan, marking a 3.7% increase and maintaining growth for seven consecutive quarters. Foreign-invested enterprises saw their imports and exports grow 9.6% in computer, communication and other electronic equipment manufacturing; 6.1% in pharmaceutical manufacturing; and 9.5% in food manufacturing.

As for state-owned enterprises (SOEs), they have remained focused on their core responsibilities and overall development priorities, playing a key role in ensuring energy and resource supplies and strengthening industrial chain resilience. In 2025, SOEs posted a combined import-export value of 6.06 trillion yuan, accounting for 13.3% of China's total foreign trade. Among SOEs engaged in foreign trade, the average import-export volume per enterprise reached 940 million yuan, the highest of any enterprise type. SOEs play a particularly prominent role in imports, with import volume 2.1 times that of exports. They accounted for over 60% of China's energy imports and nearly 40% of metal ore imports.

Going forward, customs authorities will continue implementing policies and measures to stabilize foreign trade. They will leverage mechanisms such as the "customs heads delivering policies directly to companies" initiative, continue building the "zero-distance between customs and enterprises" service brand, strengthen corporate credit cultivation, and provide targeted support to help market entities of all types stabilize markets and secure orders. Thank you.

Shou Xiaoli:

Due to time constraints, we'll take one last question.