China's foreign trade up 7.7% in 2022 to new high

China's annual foreign trade value topped 40 trillion yuan (US$5.94 trillion) for the first time in 2022, as the country works to better coordinate epidemic response with economic and social development amid complex and severe domestic and international situations, official data showed Friday.

Total goods trade reached a record 42.07 trillion yuan, up 7.7 percent year on year, topping the world for six consecutive years, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

Exports rose 10.5 percent to 23.97 trillion yuan, and imports went up 4.3 percent to 18.1 trillion yuan.

China's foreign trade delivered breakthroughs in scale, quality and efficiency last year, which is a hard-won feat considering headwinds in demand, supply and expectations, GAC spokesperson Lyu Daliang said.

China's imports and exports with ASEAN, the European Union and the United States gained 15 percent, 5.6 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.

China's trade with Belt and Road countries climbed 19.4 percent to account for 32.9 percent of its total foreign trade, while trade with other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership rose 7.5 percent.