Innovation key to growth in China's exports

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is still some time away, but for merchants in Yiwu, a city in East China's Zhejiang province, often called the "world's supermarket", the business season is already in full swing.

According to local Customs, the city's exports of sporting goods and equipment reached 5.86 billion yuan ($815.8 million) in the first half of 2025, a 16.8 percent year-on-year increase. Exports to the three World Cup host nations — the United States, Canada and Mexico — grew by 12 percent.

Yiwu's ability to anticipate and act on future demand is a direct result of its agile supply chain, which can respond swiftly from design to production. This dynamic capability is a vivid example of how China's foreign trade is navigating global headwinds and turning challenges into opportunities.

The trade challenges of recent years cannot be understated. Amid rising unilateralism and protectionism, the external environment for Chinese businesses has grown more complex, severe and uncertain. Despite this, China's foreign trade has achieved remarkable growth.

This resilience is built on strong performance. Compared to 2020, China's total trade in goods had grown by 32.4 percent by 2024, with trade in knowledge-intensive services rising by 38 percent, and digitally deliverable services expanding by nearly 40 percent.

National Customs data released Thursday show that China's total imports and exports of goods in yuan-denominated terms rose to 25.7 trillion yuan in the first seven months of 2025, up 3.5 percent year-on-year and accelerating on the increase of 2.9 percent registered in the first half of the year.

The path of foreign trade is challenging, but by no means impossible, said Zhu Xiaojun, a director at the global lithium battery company EVE Energy Co Ltd. "We prepared our technology in advance, proactively extended our industrial chain and continuously improved our global manufacturing, service and cooperation capabilities."

This shift from competing on price to competing on innovation is not an isolated trend. In East China's Jiangsu province, a company making high-end outdoor umbrellas with smart electric rotation and lighting has seen its exports grow by over 50 percent this year, reaching over 50 countries and regions.

Official data clearly confirm this trend. In the first half of 2025, exports of high-technology products climbed 9.2 percent year-on-year, marking nine consecutive months of growth. Notably, the share of indigenous brands within these high-tech exports has risen to 32.4 percent, a testament to growing domestic innovation.

"China's manufacturing is overcoming key technological hurdles and making a significant leap up the global value chain," said Liu Xiangdong, a researcher with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. Liu noted that the rise of products like electric vehicles, advanced ships and industrial robots has reshaped the country's export competitiveness.

Companies are also actively charting new courses to navigate challenges. "Waiting is not an option. We have to proactively find new shipping lanes," said Niu Liqun, chairman of a robotics company in North China's Shanxi province. Faced with external pressures, Niu's firm has successfully expanded into European and emerging markets, with orders now booked through the fourth quarter.