China’s Foreign Trade Statistics for January-May 2025
“January-May 2025 saw a "strong exports, weak imports" pattern, with structural upgrades in trade. Electromechanical and high-tech exports excelled, but U.S.-bound shipments were hit by tariffs. June data remains incomplete, but full-year trade growth may decelerate, pending U.S.-China tariff negotiations and emerging market expansion.”
According to data released by the General Administration of Customs and multiple research institutions in June 2025, China’s foreign trade performance for the first five months of the year has been disclosed. Below is a comprehensive overview and analysis of the key statistics:
I. Overall Foreign Trade Performance (Jan-May)
1. Total Import & Export Value
From January to May 2025, China’s total goods trade reached 17.94 trillion yuan, a year-on-year（YoY）increase of 2.5%.
Exports: 10.67 trillion yuan (+7.2%, the primary driver).
Imports: 7.27 trillion yuan (−3.8%).
Trade surplus: 3.4 trillion yuan (+32.5% YoY).
2. May Single-Month Data
Total trade: 3.81 trillion yuan (+2.7% YoY).
Exports: 2.28 trillion yuan (+6.3%).
Imports: 1.53 trillion yuan (−2.1%).
In USD terms:
Exports: $316.1 billion (+4.8% YoY, down 3.3 percentage points from April).
Imports: $212.88 billion (−3.4%).
II. Trade Methods: General & Processing Trade Both Grow
1. General Trade (64.2% share): 11.51 trillion yuan(+0.8%).
Exports: +7%; Imports: −7.8%.
2. Processing Trade (17.9% share): 3.21 trillion yuan(+6.2%).
Exports: +4.5%; Imports: +9.3%.
3. Bonded Logistics(e.g., cross-border e-commerce): 2.54 trillion yuan (+5.9%).
Exports surged +15.8%.
III. Major Trading Partners (ASEAN Leads, Divergence in EU & US)
1. ASEAN(Largest partner):
Trade value: 3.02 trillion yuan (+9.1%, 16.8% of total).
Exports: 1.9 trillion yuan (+13.5%).
Imports: 1.12 trillion yuan (+2.3%).
2. EU(Second-largest):
Trade value: 2.3 trillion yuan (+2.9%, 12.8% share).
Exports: 1.57 trillion yuan (+7.7%).
Imports: 728.3 billion yuan (−6.1%).
3. United States (Third-largest):
Trade value: 1.72 trillion yuan (−8.1%, 9.6% share).
Exports: 1.27 trillion yuan (−8.7%).
Imports: 447.5 billion yuan (−6.3%).
May single-month exports to the U.S. plummeted 34.5% YoY (the only major partner with a decline, due to tariffs).
4. Belt & Road Countries:
Trade value: 9.24 trillion yuan (+4.2%).
Exports: +10.4%; Imports: −3.2%.
5. Africa:
Trade value: 963.21 billion yuan (+12.4%).
Exports surged +20.2%.
IV. Export Product Structure
1. Electromechanical Products (60% of total exports):
6.4 trillion yuan(+9.3%).
Integrated circuits (chips): 526.4 billion yuan (+18.9%).
Automobiles: 351.3 billion yuan (+6.6%).
Automatic data processing equipment: 575.2 billion yuan (+3.9%).
2. New Three" Products (EVs, lithium batteries, solar panels):
Export growth: +48.7%.
3. Labor-Intensive Products:
1.66 trillion yuan(−1.5%, share dropped to 15.6%).
Textiles (+3.7%) were a bright spot.
V. Import Trends
1. Bulk Commodities (impacted by price drops):
Iron ore: Volume −5.2%, average price −16.4%.
Crude oil: Volume +0.3%, price −10.6%.
2. Electromechanical Imports:
2.83 trillion yuan(+6%).
Semiconductor equipment imports surged +42.6%.
3. Agricultural Imports:
Soybean volume: −0.7%, but May saw a "rush to import" due to U.S.-China tariff adjustments.
VI. June Outlook & Annual Forecast
1. June Trends:
Exports expected to remain positive but slow due to tariff impacts and weaker global demand.
2. 2025 Projections:
Caixin Research: Full-year export growth ~0% (H2 tariffs may drag growth by 7–11 percentage points).
World Bank: China’s GDP growth forecast at 5.2%, with net exports contributing 0.8 percentage points.
Summary
January-May 2025 saw a "strong exports, weak imports" pattern, with structural upgrades in trade. Electromechanical and high-tech exports excelled, but U.S.-bound shipments were hit by tariffs. June data remains incomplete, but full-year trade growth may decelerate, pending U.S.-China tariff negotiations and emerging market expansion.
