China's foreign trade grows 4.9% in first 11 months

In the first 11 months of 2024, the total value of China's foreign trade reached 39.79 trillion yuan (.49 trillion), an increase of 4.9 percent year on year, according to customs statistics released on Tuesday. Among this, exports totaled 23.04 trillion yuan, growing by 6.7 percent while imports reached 16.75 trillion yuan, increasing by 2.4 percent.

Notably, the growth was significant in general trade and processing trade. In the first 11 months, China's general trade value was 25.5 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.7 percent, accounting for 64.1 percent of the total foreign trade. During the same period, processing trade value was 7.22 trillion yuan, growing by 3.6 percent, accounting for 18.1 percent of the total.

China's top four trading partners were ASEAN, the EU, the US, and South Korea, with bilateral trade growing 8.6 percent, 1.3 percent, 4.2 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively. 

In November, China announced a slew of policy measures to promote stable growth of foreign trade. The country's Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Customs and other departments have also introduced specific measures to accelerate the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade, further optimize the business environment at ports, and facilitate customs clearance for enterprises.