by Manal Barakat, SeaNewsEditor

The latest market developments created a challenging trading environment for China. However, recent reports show positive trade growth despite these challenges.

China’s import and export market has seen an increased growth in value over the past six months. Most of the country's ports reported increases in cargo volumes, while expansion programmes continued.

According to World Cargo report, data from the China Customs Statistics Information Centre revealed that from January to June 2025, the value of China's foreign trade rose by 2.9% to CNY 21.8 trillion (USD 3.04 trillion).

Exports increased by 7.2% to CNY 13 trillion (USD 1.81 trillion), while imports decreased by 2.7% to CNY 8.8 trillion (USD 1.23 trillion).

This positive performance was partly due to agreements reached between Washington and Beijing earlier this year, which deferred the imposition of tariffs until 12 August. This led to a surge in cargo volumes in late May, June, and July, which will impact trade numbers later this year.

Over the past six months, container throughput at the majority of Chinese ports increased, with the Ministry of Transport noting a 6.9% year-on-year rise. Nearly 173 million TEU were handled during this period, and June alone saw a new weekly record in week 25, with 6.7 million TEU processed.