China's foreign trade demonstrated remarkable resilience and vitality in 2025, overcoming a complex and volatile international environment to hit a record high.

The total import and export value exceeded 45 trillion yuan ($6.2 trillion), marking a 3.8 percent year-on-year increase and the ninth consecutive year of growth. This achievement highlights the robustness of the world's largest goods trader as it navigates global economic headwinds.

The "report card" for 2025, released recently by the National Bureau of Statistics and the General Administration of Customs (GAC), reveals a trade sector that is not only growing in volume, but also optimizing in structure.

Kang Yi, head of the NBS, noted that the total value of goods trade reached 45.47 trillion yuan, with exports growing by 6.1 percent to 26.99 trillion yuan and imports rising by 0.5 percent to 18.48 trillion yuan. This marked the longest continuous expansion since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, underscoring the nation's ability to maintain momentum despite external pressures.

A significant shift toward high-quality development is evident behind the headline numbers.

Wang Jun, deputy head of the GAC, highlighted that exports are increasingly trending toward "new and optimized" products. High-tech product exports reached 5.25 trillion yuan, a jump of 13.2 percent, signaling that China is moving up the global value chain.

The automotive sector, in particular, has witnessed explosive growth, serving as the prime example of this structural optimization. According to data from the GAC, the export volume of new energy vehicles (NEVs) reached 3.43 million units in 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 70 percent.

This growth rate marked a significant acceleration compared to the 16 percent growth observed in 2024. NEVs accounted for 41 percent of the total automobile export volume, which stood at 8.32 million units. The surge has not only solidified China's position as the world's largest auto exporter, but also underscored the global appetite for high-quality, intelligent Chinese manufacturing.

Dong Yu, executive vice-president of the China Institute for Development Planning at Tsinghua University, attributed this stability to timely policy interventions and long-term strategies.

Dong explained that in the second quarter of 2025, changes in the external environmental exerted fresh pressure on exports. In response, the central government introduced a series of measures to stabilize foreign trade, which acted as a crucial "ballast stone".

Dong emphasized that the growth is also a result of the persistent push for high-quality development and the construction of a unified national market, strategies that are now bearing fruit in the trade sector.

While policy provides the foundation, the efficiency of China's ports — the soft environment — has become a critical competitive advantage, especially while handling the booming volume of complex exports like automobiles. If infrastructures such as channels and cranes are the "hardware", then streamlined customs procedures and intelligent scheduling are the "software" that keep trade flowing.

A prime example of this transformation is visible at the Guangzhou Port Nansha Automobile Terminal in Guangdong province. Here, massive roll-on/roll-off ships are frequently seen loading the country's "star products" — NEVs — destined for global markets.

Shen Junhui, a veteran in the auto import-export business, has witnessed this shift firsthand over a decade. His business, which initially focused on imports, now heavily involves exporting domestic NEVs. He said the "geometric growth" in efficiency he is experiencing is due to institutional innovation.

To cope with the booming export volume and the larger scale of the terminal, Nansha Port has implemented a "one-stop" service station. Previously, procedures such as customs declarations, licensing and transfer for export required trips between the city center and the port, consuming valuable time. Now, all the processes are completed within the port area.

Lu Chunrong, assistant general manager of Guangzhou Port Nansha Automobile Terminal Co Ltd, said that the port has created a high-efficiency operating mode where seven ships can dock and operate in parallel. Through scientific ship scheduling and resource integration, the terminal has achieved a normalized standard of loading over 4,000 vehicles per single ship within 24 hours. This precision is essential in meeting the requirement of "docking upon arrival, fast loading and immediate departure".

Efficiency is further boosted by cross-departmental collaboration. The Nansha Border Inspection Station has introduced a "full-chain" smart clearance model. Ships can complete pre-inspections online before arrival, allowing for immediate docking.

Crucially, for cargo leaving the port, electronic intelligent supervision has eliminated the need for secondary handling and detours through municipal roads. Vehicles now move directly from the warehouse to the ship's side, achieving "point-to-point" direct access.

Furthermore, the "One Port Pass" reform launched by Guangzhou Customs has integrated logistics across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, allowing export goods to complete customs procedures at local inland river terminals before being shipped out.

From the "efficiency change" of a single enterprise to the "capacity change" of a port, and finally to the "network change" connecting the hinterland to the globe, these efforts ensure the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

The external environment continues to remain severe as 2026 unfolds.

However, with a solid economic foundation, a proven ability to innovate in manufacturing as evidenced by the NEV sector, and a continuously optimizing logistics environment, China's foreign trade sector is poised to continue injecting certainty into the global economy.