China's Foreign Trade Surpasses 41.21 Trillion Yuan in Jan-Nov, Driven by "New Three" and Digital Innovation

Beijing, December 2025 — Against the backdrop of a complex and evolving global trade landscape, China's foreign trade has once again demonstrated remarkable resilience and structural vitality. According to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs, the total value of China's goods trade imports and exports reached 41.21 trillion yuan in the first eleven months of 2025, marking year-on-year growth for ten consecutive months and laying a solid foundation for a stable annual performance. Notably, export growth accelerated noticeably in November alone, underscoring the sustained competitiveness of 'Made in China' in the global marketplace.

A closer look at the Jan-Nov period reveals a profound shift in the driving forces behind China's trade. Private enterprises, often hailed as the new 'main force,' saw their import and export volume grow by 7.1%, outpacing the overall growth rate. Their dynamism and innovative capacity are becoming the core internal engine for expansion. Simultaneously, the pillars of growth have comprehensively shifted from traditional scale expansion to a new track of high-quality development, underpinned by technological innovation, green transformation, and business model innovation.

Growth Engine I: Technological Innovation, High-Value-Added Products Lead the Upgrade

China's export value chain is steadily moving upward. In the first eleven months, electromechanical products, representing the strength of China's industrial manufacturing, accounted for 60.9% of the total export value. The stability of this share signifies the enduring, yet structurally improving, role of China as a global manufacturing hub.

Within this broad category, sub-sectors with higher technological intensity are experiencing explosive growth. Exports of products like integrated circuits and automobiles (especially new energy vehicles - NEVs) have been particularly stellar. This performance is the result of years of R&D investment and industrial chain integration in fields such as semiconductors and electric vehicles. For instance, Chinese NEVs are not only dominant in the domestic market but are also rapidly penetrating overseas markets like Europe and Southeast Asia, driving exports across the entire industrial chain from power batteries to intelligent driving systems.

Growth Engine II: Green Transformation, the 'New Three' Spearhead a Green Export Wave

If electromechanical products form the 'bedrock' of trade, then the 'New Three' — new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products — represent its most dazzling growth frontier. In the first eleven months, the combined export of these 'New Three' products soared by 24.1%, far exceeding the overall growth rate and constituting a new name card for Chinese manufacturing in the global green economy.

This green wave extends beyond the 'New Three' to a wider range of industries. The export momentum for electric passenger vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar cells remains robust. Meanwhile, China's shipbuilding industry, through breakthroughs in high-value-added vessels like LNG carriers and mega-container ships, leads the world in orders and export value. Electric two-wheelers have become a new export sensation, popular in European and American urban commuting markets due to their convenience and eco-friendliness. This trend signals China's transformation from the 'world's factory' into a crucial supplier of green technology solutions and products for the globe.

Growth Engine III: Model Innovation, Digital Tools and Brands Reshape the Trade Ecosystem

The third pillar of growth stems from a profound transformation in the trade models themselves. Cross-border e-commerce, as the primary form of digital trade, is developing at an unprecedented pace. It provides a direct pathway for 'small yet beautiful' Chinese brands to reach global consumers and helps traditional exporters rebuild sales channels and brand value. An increasing number of companies are transitioning from original equipment manufacturing (OEM) to original design manufacturing (ODM) and exporting their own brands (OBM).

In this transition, digital tools, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), are becoming standard equipment for vast numbers of foreign trade enterprises. A vivid example comes from Yiwu, the world's capital of small commodities. Reports indicate that nearly 30,000 merchants there routinely use AI tools in their daily operations. These tools are applied in areas such as intelligent product design, multilingual marketing copy generation, customer service, and market trend analysis. This micro-level efficiency revolution significantly lowers the barrier and cost for businesses to explore international markets, enhancing the Chinese supply chain's capability for rapid response and personalized service.

Outlook: Fostering New Advantages Amid Resilience

The foreign trade data for the first eleven months of 2025 clearly reveals that China's resilience does not stem from simple quantitative accumulation but from a profound structural evolution. Market entities, represented by private enterprises, are full of vitality; product competitiveness, represented by the 'New Three' and high-end electromechanical goods, is prominent; and business models, represented by cross-border e-commerce and AI adoption, are rapidly innovating.

Despite challenges such as external demand uncertainty, geopolitics, and trade protectionism, Chinese foreign trade is cultivating new quality productive forces for the future by harnessing momentum from 'technological innovation, green development, and digital intelligence.' This quality-oriented, innovation-driven growth model will not only support the stable and long-term development of China's foreign trade but will also contribute significantly to stabilizing global industrial and supply chains and promoting the green transition.