ThePaper.cn:

Could you brief us on China's foreign trade with Belt and Road partner countries in 2025, and the new measures and progress made by the GACC in supporting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation? Thank you.

Wang Jun:

Mr. Lyu will answer your questions.

Lyu Daliang:

Thank you for your questions. High-quality joint development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has created new opportunities for mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation worldwide. In 2025, China's imports and exports with BRI partner countries reached 23.6 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.3%, which is 2.5 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of China's foreign trade. In terms of share, trade with BRI partners accounted for 51.9% of China's total foreign trade in 2025, further rising after surpassing the 50% mark in 2024. Here, I would like to share two ways in which we have boosted the trade.

First, "hard connectivity" has facilitated smooth trade. With deeper coordination among the Silk Road maritime routes, cross-border highways and railways, and the Silk Road air routes, China's imports and exports with BRI partner countries through water, land, and air transport grew by 6.2%, 12.4%, and 8.2%, respectively in 2025. Tightly interconnected logistics networks have supported the smooth implementation of major landmark projects. China's exports to BRI partner countries through contracted projects reached 126.49 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 45.7%. Notable progress was also seen in green infrastructure construction, with exports of wind turbines rising by 73.9%.

Second, the trade that benefits people has further strengthened people-to-people bonds. In the medical sector, China's exports of medical devices to BRI partner countries increased by 10.4% in 2025, providing more high-quality options for their medical industries. At the same time, BRI partner countries are also China's main sources of imported traditional Chinese medicinal materials accounting for over 70% of China's total imported goods in this category. As the saying goes, food is the top priority for the people. In 2025, China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) and its counterparts in BRI countries signed more than 100 cooperation documents on market access for agricultural and food products. Trade in agricultural products between China and BRI partners reached a record high of 1.43 trillion yuan. The BRI customs cooperation information platform on food safety was officially launched, ensuring that consumers on both sides can enjoy a rich and safe diet.

Positioned at the hub of international and domestic circulation, customs serves as an important link in promoting connectivity. We have continued to deepen institutional cooperation with BRI partner countries in customs inspection and quarantine. Cooperation on smart customs with BRI partner countries has been steadily expanded. To date, customs authorities from 146 countries and regions have registered on the global smart customs cooperation platform, and a total of 82 best-practice cases in the field have been released. In 2025, we officially implemented mutual recognition of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) with four BRI partner countries, and signed cooperation documents on "single window" clearance with customs authorities in five BRI partner countries, continuously facilitating customs clearance. We are advancing the expansion and renovation of border ports, promoting the pilot projects for smart port checkpoints, improving the "green channel" for fast-track customs clearance of agricultural products, and improving the flow of cross-border movements with BRI partner countries.

Moving forward, the customs authorities will work under the guidance of the eight major steps for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, deepen collaboration with the customs authorities of BRI partner countries, enhance customs clearance efficiency, in order to achieve steady and long-term progress of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.