An aerial drone photo shows the view of a container terminal of Nanjing Port in east China's Jiangsu Province, Oct. 19, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's foreign trade in goods has maintained stable growth in the first 10 months of 2025 despite global economic headwinds, official data showed on Friday.

The country's total goods imports and exports totaled 37.31 trillion yuan (about 5.27 trillion U.S. dollars) from January to October, up 3.6 percent year on year, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

In October alone, China's goods imports and exports edged up 0.1 percent year on year to 3.7 trillion yuan. Exports slipped 0.8 percent from a year earlier, but imports climbed 1.4 percent, marking a fifth straight month of expansion.

Lyu Daliang, director of GAC's Department of Statistics and Analysis, said that despite external shocks, China's foreign trade has demonstrated strong resilience this year, continuing its sustained steady expansion, which is a hard-won result.

In the first 10 months, ASEAN was China's largest trading partner. The trade value between the two sides rose 9.1 percent year on year and accounted for 16.6 percent of China's total foreign trade value.

China has remained ASEAN's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years, while ASEAN has been China's top trading partner for five consecutive years.

During the 10-month period, China's trade with the EU grew 4.9 percent, while Sino-U.S. trade fell 15.9 percent. Data also highlighted a 5.9 percent increase in trade with Belt and Road countries.

Private enterprises demonstrated significant dynamism as the main driver of trade, with their import and export values growing 7.2 percent to 21.28 trillion yuan, accounting for 57 percent of the country's total and 1.9 percentage points higher than the same period last year.

China's foreign trade continued to undergo a structural shift as exports of mechanical and electrical products grew 8.7 percent, accounting for 60.7 percent of total exports, driven by strong growth in integrated circuits and automobiles, while labor-intensive products saw a 3 percent decline.

"Foreign trade still faces some pressures in the fourth quarter, but positive factors are accumulating," said Bao Xiaohua, a chair professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

With various support policies taking full effect, the downward pressure on China's exports is generally manageable in the fourth quarter, and steady growth is anticipated for the full year, Bao added.