China foreign trade data 1981 to 2025
The table presents a long-term, structural view of China’s foreign trade evolution over more than four decades, illustrating the country’s transition from a relatively closed, import-dependent economy into the world’s largest trading nation. In the early 1980s, China’s trade volume was modest and characterized by frequent trade imbalances, largely reflecting heavy imports of capital goods and technology required for industrial upgrading.
From the early 1990s onward, alongside deepening economic reforms and increased inflows of foreign direct investment, China’s trade growth accelerated markedly. Exports gradually emerged as the primary growth engine. A major inflection point occurred in the early 2000s, following China’s integration into the global trading system, when total trade expanded at sustained double-digit rates and trade surpluses became structurally embedded.
The period from 2008 to 2009 clearly reflects the impact of the global financial crisis, with simultaneous contractions in exports and imports, yet with the trade surplus largely preserved. From 2010 onward, China entered a phase of “large-scale trade with managed volatility.” The strong rebound in 2021 following the pandemic highlights the resilience of China’s supply chains, while the relative slowdown in 2023 and subsequent recovery in 2024–2025 indicate a phase of trade recalibration, market diversification, and changes in product composition.
Overall, the table captures not only the quantitative expansion of China’s trade, but also its qualitative transformation—from scale-driven growth to a more structurally balanced, surplus-oriented, and strategically adaptive trade model.
| Year | Trade Value (USD million) | % Change vs Same Period Last Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trade | Export | Import | Trade Balance | Total | Export | Import | |
| 1981 | 44,022.00 | 22,007.00 | 22,015.00 | -8.00 | - | - | - |
| 1982 | 41,606.00 | 22,321.00 | 19,285.00 | 3,036.00 | -5.5 | 1.4 | -12.4 |
| 1983 | 43,616.00 | 22,226.00 | 21,390.00 | 836.00 | 4.8 | -0.4 | 10.9 |
| 1984 | 53,549.00 | 26,139.00 | 27,410.00 | -1,271.00 | 22.8 | 17.6 | 28.1 |
| 1985 | 69,602.00 | 27,350.00 | 42,252.00 | -14,902.00 | 30.0 | 4.6 | 54.1 |
| 1986 | 73,846.00 | 30,942.00 | 42,904.00 | -11,962.00 | 6.1 | 13.1 | 1.5 |
| 1987 | 82,653.00 | 39,437.00 | 43,216.00 | -3,779.00 | 11.9 | 27.5 | 0.7 |
| 1988 | 102,784.00 | 47,516.00 | 55,268.00 | -7,752.00 | 24.4 | 20.5 | 27.9 |
| 1989 | 111,678.00 | 52,538.00 | 59,140.00 | -6,602.00 | 8.7 | 10.6 | 7.0 |
| 1990 | 115,436.00 | 62,091.00 | 53,345.00 | 8,746.00 | 3.4 | 18.2 | -9.8 |
| 1991 | 135,634.00 | 71,843.00 | 63,791.00 | 8,052.00 | 17.5 | 15.7 | 19.6 |
| 1992 | 165,525.00 | 84,940.00 | 80,585.00 | 4,355.00 | 22.0 | 18.2 | 26.3 |
| 1993 | 195,703.00 | 91,744.00 | 103,959.00 | -12,215.00 | 18.2 | 8.0 | 29.0 |
| 1994 | 236,621.00 | 121,006.00 | 115,615.00 | 5,391.00 | 20.9 | 31.9 | 11.2 |
| 1995 | 280,864.00 | 148,780.00 | 132,084.00 | 16,696.00 | 18.7 | 23.0 | 14.2 |
| 1996 | 289,881.00 | 151,048.00 | 138,833.00 | 12,215.00 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 5.1 |
| 1997 | 325,162.00 | 182,792.00 | 142,370.00 | 40,422.00 | 12.2 | 21.0 | 2.5 |
| 1998 | 323,949.00 | 183,712.00 | 140,237.00 | 43,475.00 | -0.4 | 0.5 | -1.5 |
| 1999 | 360,630.00 | 194,931.00 | 165,699.00 | 29,232.00 | 11.3 | 6.1 | 18.2 |
| 2000 | 474,297.00 | 249,203.00 | 225,094.00 | 24,109.00 | 31.5 | 27.8 | 35.8 |
| 2001 | 509,651.00 | 266,098.00 | 243,553.00 | 22,545.00 | 7.5 | 6.8 | 8.2 |
| 2002 | 620,766.00 | 325,596.00 | 295,170.00 | 30,426.00 | 21.8 | 22.4 | 21.2 |
| 2003 | 850,988.00 | 438,228.00 | 412,760.00 | 25,468.00 | 37.1 | 34.6 | 39.8 |
| 2004 | 1,154,554.00 | 593,326.00 | 561,229.00 | 32,097.00 | 35.7 | 35.4 | 36.0 |
| 2005 | 1,421,906.00 | 761,953.00 | 659,953.00 | 102,001.00 | 23.2 | 28.4 | 17.6 |
| 2006 | 1,760,438.00 | 968,978.00 | 791,461.00 | 177,517.00 | 23.8 | 27.2 | 19.9 |
| 2007 | 2,176,175.00 | 1,220,060.00 | 956,115.00 | 263,944.00 | 23.6 | 25.9 | 20.8 |
| 2008 | 2,563,255.00 | 1,430,693.00 | 1,132,562.00 | 298,131.00 | 17.8 | 17.3 | 18.5 |
| 2009 | 2,207,535.00 | 1,201,612.00 | 1,005,923.00 | 195,689.00 | -13.9 | -16.0 | -11.2 |
| 2010 | 2,974,001.00 | 1,577,754.00 | 1,396,247.00 | 181,507.00 | 34.7 | 31.3 | 38.8 |
| 2011 | 3,641,864.00 | 1,898,381.00 | 1,743,484.00 | 154,897.00 | 22.5 | 20.3 | 24.9 |
| 2012 | 3,867,119.00 | 2,048,714.00 | 1,818,405.00 | 230,309.00 | 6.2 | 7.9 | 4.3 |
| 2013 | 4,158,993.47 | 2,209,004.00 | 1,949,989.47 | 259,014.53 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 7.2 |
| 2014 | 4,301,527.34 | 2,342,292.70 | 1,959,234.65 | 383,058.05 | 3.4 | 6.0 | 0.4 |
| 2015 | 3,953,032.72 | 2,273,468.22 | 1,679,564.50 | 593,903.73 | -8.0 | -2.9 | -14.1 |
| 2016 | 3,685,557.41 | 2,097,631.19 | 1,587,926.22 | 509,704.97 | -6.8 | -7.7 | -5.5 |
| 2017 | 4,107,137.86 | 2,263,344.92 | 1,843,792.94 | 419,551.98 | 11.4 | 7.9 | 16.1 |
| 2018 | 4,622,444.13 | 2,486,695.71 | 2,135,748.42 | 350,947.29 | 12.5 | 9.9 | 15.8 |
| 2019 | 4,577,891.07 | 2,499,482.09 | 2,078,408.98 | 421,073.11 | -1.0 | 0.5 | -2.7 |
| 2020 | 4,655,913.16 | 2,589,951.61 | 2,065,961.55 | 523,990.05 | 1.7 | 3.6 | -0.6 |
| 2021 | 5,995,434.16 | 3,316,022.13 | 2,679,412.03 | 636,610.10 | 28.8 | 28.0 | 29.7 |
| 2022 | 6,250,941.35 | 3,544,434.49 | 2,706,506.86 | 837,927.63 | 4.3 | 6.9 | 1.0 |
| 2023 | 5,935,984.78 | 3,379,043.57 | 2,556,941.21 | 822,102.36 | -5.0 | -4.7 | -5.5 |
| 2024 | 6,159,012.76 | 3,575,794.68 | 2,583,218.07 | 992,576.61 | 3.8 | 5.8 | 1.0 |
| 2025 | 6,354,738.56 | 3,771,842.42 | 2,582,896.14 | 1,188,946.27 | 3.2 | 5.5 | 0.0 |
China’s foreign trade trajectory reflects a clear progression from development-driven import dependence toward export-led expansion and, more recently, toward strategic stabilization. The sustained trade surplus observed in the later stages underscores China’s entrenched position in global value chains, while recent fluctuations suggest a deliberate shift toward resilience, higher value-added exports, and diversified trade relationships. For analysts, policymakers, and investors, these long-term patterns provide critical context for understanding China’s current and future role in global trade dynamics.
