General Administration of Customs: In H1, copper semis imports fell by 4.6%, rare earth exports rose by 11.9%, and aluminum semis exports fell by 8%.

Yesterday morning, the State Council Information Office held a press conference, where relevant officials from the General Administration of Customs introduced the import and export situation of goods trade in the first half of this year. In H1, China's goods trade import and export reached 21.79 trillion yuan, up 2.9% YoY. Since the beginning of this year, facing a complex and severe international situation, China's foreign trade has maintained strong resilience, achieving growth in total volume, improvement in quality, and controllable variables.

According to customs statistics, in H1, China's goods trade import and export reached 21.79 trillion yuan, up 2.9% YoY. Among them, exports were 13 trillion yuan, up 7.2%; imports were 8.79 trillion yuan, down 2.7%. In June, import and export, exports, and imports all achieved positive growth on a YoY basis, and the growth rates were all rebounding.

From the perspective of foreign trade entities, in H1, private enterprises' import and export reached 12.48 trillion yuan, up 7.3% YoY, accounting for 57.3% of China's foreign trade, an increase of 2.3 percentage points compared to the same period last year. China's foreign-funded enterprises' import and export reached 6.32 trillion yuan, up 2.4% YoY, maintaining growth for five consecutive quarters. The number of foreign-funded enterprises with actual import and export performance in China reached 75,000, a new high for the same period since 2021.

From the perspective of trading partners, in H1, China's import and export with the EU reached 2.82 trillion yuan, up 3.5% YoY, with an average daily import and export exceeding 15 billion yuan, equivalent to the trade value of a year at the time of diplomatic relations establishment. China's import and export with other BRICS member states and partner countries reached 6.11 trillion yuan, up 3.9% YoY, accounting for 28.1% of China's total import and export value. China's import and export with countries participating in the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" reached 11.29 trillion yuan, up 4.7% YoY, accounting for 51.8% of the overall foreign trade proportion.

Partial transcripts of the original text are as follows:

State Council Information Office Holds Press Conference to Introduce Import and Export Situation in H1 2025

Zhou Jianshe, Deputy Director-General of the Press Office and Spokesperson of the State Council Information Office:

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning! Welcome to the press conference of the State Council Information Office. Today, we are conducting a routine release of economic data. We have invited Mr. Wang Lingjun, Deputy Commissioner of the General Administration of Customs, to introduce the import and export situation in H1 2025 and answer questions of concern. Also attending today's press conference is Mr. Lu Daliang, Spokesperson of the General Administration of Customs and Director-General of the Department of Statistics and Analysis.

Wang Lingjun, Deputy Commissioner of the General Administration of Customs:

Thank you, host. Good morning, fellow journalists! First, I will inform you of China's goods trade import and export situation in H1 this year, and then my colleagues and I will answer questions that you are interested in.

Since the beginning of this year, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, China has adhered to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, unwaveringly focused on its own affairs, and unwaveringly expanded high-standard opening up to the outside world. It has made efforts to stabilize employment, enterprises, markets, and expectations, effectively responded to external shocks, and maintained overall stability and progress in the national economy. China's foreign trade has withstood pressure, maintained momentum, and demonstrated vitality amid complex circumstances. According to customs statistics, in the first half of this year, China's imports and exports of goods trade amounted to 21.79 trillion yuan, up 2.9% YoY. Among them, exports reached 13 trillion yuan, increasing by 7.2%, while imports amounted to 8.79 trillion yuan, decreasing by 2.7%. Specifically, there are five main characteristics as follows:

First, the scale of foreign trade has grown steadily. In the first half of the year, China's import and export scale stabilized at the 20 trillion yuan mark, setting a new record high for the same period in history. From a quarterly perspective, imports and exports increased by 4.5% YoY in Q2, accelerating by 3.2 percentage points compared to Q1, and maintaining YoY growth for seven consecutive quarters.

Second, China's foreign trade "circle of friends" has become more diversified. In the first half of the year, China's imports and exports with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative amounted to 11.29 trillion yuan, increasing by 4.7%, accounting for 51.8% of the total import and export value, and increasing by 0.9 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Among them, imports and exports with ASEAN reached 3.67 trillion yuan, increasing by 9.6%. During the same period, imports and exports with the EU, South Korea, Japan, etc., all achieved growth.

Third, the export momentum has shifted towards excellence and innovation. In the first half of the year, China's exports of machinery and electronic products amounted to 7.8 trillion yuan, increasing by 9.5%, accounting for 60% of the total export value, and increasing by 1.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Among them, high-end equipment closely related to new quality productive forces grew by more than 20%, and "PV, lithium-ion battery and NEV" products, representing green and low-carbon development, increased by 12.7%.

Fourth, the expansion of domestic demand has driven a stabilization in imports. With the continuous implementation of policies such as "implement major national strategies and build up security capacity in key areas" and "program of large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins", imports turned positive growth in Q2. In the first half of the year, China's imports of machinery equipment in sectors such as petrochemicals and textiles all achieved double-digit growth, key parts such as electronic components grew rapidly, and imports of important raw materials such as crude oil and metal ores increased.

Fifth, the vitality of foreign trade operators has been continuously released. In the first half of the year, there were 628,000 foreign trade enterprises with actual import and export performance in China, surpassing 600,000 for the first time in the same period in history, and increasing by 43,000 compared to the same period last year. Among them, there were 547,000 private enterprises, with imports and exports increasing by 7.3%, accounting for nearly 60% of the total import and export value.

Overall, in the first half of this year, China's foreign trade has advanced amid pressure, with steady growth in scale and improvement in quality, achieving remarkable results. The achievement of such results fundamentally lies in the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. It also cannot be achieved without the concerted efforts of various regions and departments, as well as the adaptability and innovation of foreign trade enterprises and practitioners. However, it must also be acknowledged that the rise of global unilateralism and protectionism has increased the complexity, severity, and uncertainty of the external environment. In the second half of the year (H2), China's foreign trade still requires arduous efforts to maintain steady growth.

The customs will resolutely implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, faithfully fulfill its responsibilities and missions of safeguarding the national gateway and promoting development, deepen the construction and cooperation of smart customs, vigorously promote special actions for facilitating cross-border trade, actively play the role of customs as the intersection hub of the domestic and international dual circulation, and promote the stabilization and improvement of foreign trade in terms of quantity and quality with better supervision, higher safety, greater convenience, and stricter anti-smuggling measures, contributing to high-level opening-up and high-quality development. Thank you.

SMM has compiled the import and export situation of some products in the metal industry based on the data released by the General Administration of Customs, as detailed below:

Exports:

In June 2025, rare earth exports reached 7,742.2 mt, a 60.3% increase compared to June 2024. From January to June 2025, the cumulative exports were 32,569.2 mt, showing an 11.9% increase compared to the same period in 2024.

In June 2025, steel exports reached 9.678 million mt, a 10.7% increase compared to June 2024. From January to June 2025, the cumulative exports were 5,814.7 mt, a 9.2% increase compared to the same period in 2024.

In June 2025, unwrought aluminum and aluminum semis exports reached 489,000 mt, a 19.8% decrease compared to June 2024. From January to June 2025, the cumulative exports were 2.918 million mt, showing an 8% decrease compared to the same period in 2024.

Imports:

In June 2025, iron ore and its concentrate imports reached 105.948 million mt, an 8.5% increase compared to June 2024. From January to June 2025, the cumulative imports were 592.205 million mt, a 3% decrease compared to the same period in 2024.

In June 2025, copper ore and its concentrate imports reached 2.35 million mt, a 1.7% increase compared to June 2024. From January to June 2025, the cumulative imports were 14.754 million mt, a 6.4% increase compared to the same period in 2024.

In June 2025, coal and lignite imports reached 33.037 million mt, a 25.9% decrease compared to June 2024. From January to June 2025, cumulative imports reached 22,170.2 10,000 mt, a decrease of 11.1% YoY compared to the same period in 2024.

In June 2025, rare earth imports reached 8,386.1 mt, a decrease of 13.7% YoY compared to June 2024. From January to June 2025, cumulative imports reached 57,392.2 mt, a decrease of 20.6% YoY compared to the same period in 2024.

In June 2025, steel imports reached 47.0 10,000 mt, a decrease of 18.3% YoY compared to June 2024. From January to June 2025, cumulative imports reached 302.3 10,000 mt, a decrease of 16.4% YoY compared to the same period in 2024.

In June 2025, imports of unwrought copper and copper semis reached 464,000 mt, a decrease of 6.4% YoY compared to June 2024. From January to June 2025, cumulative imports reached 2.633 million mt, a decrease of 4.6% YoY compared to the same period in 2024.

》Click to view the SMM Metal Industry Chain Database

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