Guangzhou's foreign trade posted a 15.5% year-on-year surge to reach 605.05 billion yuan (approximately $84.2 billion USD) during the first six months of 2025, marking the city's strongest first-half result on record, according to the Guangzhou Commerce Bureau.
In the first half of 2025, the manufacturing sector demonstrated robust expansion. Exports of self-owned brand electromechanical products climbed 14%. Shipments of integrated manufacturing technology surged 51%. Garment exports rose 19%.
Regional trade partnerships flourished significantly. Bonded logistics foreign trade transactions jumped 29.9% to 56.65 billion yuan. Foreign trade volumes with the European Union reached 105.24 billion yuan, representing a substantial 30.5% increase, while commerce with ASEAN nations expanded 36.7% to 101.91 billion yuan. Trade with Belt and Road Initiative partner countries grew 26.2% to 282.41 billion yuan.
Private enterprises emerged as the primary growth engine, driving a 27.9% expansion in their foreign trade activities to 365.35 billion yuan. Accounting for 60.4% of Guangzhou's total import-export volume, these firms contributed 15.2 percentage points to the city's overall trade growth.
The performance stems from Guangzhou's comprehensive trade facilitation reforms, including the establishment of a cross-border e-commerce data service platform, the implementation of pre-clearance inspections for customs goods, and the groundbreaking "instant tax rebates upon goods departure" system for overseas warehouses, along with electronic declaration innovation and hundreds of matchmaking events connecting local enterprises with international buyers.
Reporter/Poster Script | Huang Xinyi
Graphic Design | Cai Junru
Editor | Hu Nan, James, Shen He
