Chinese private companies have remained the main category of country’s foreign trade operators for the sixth consecutive year, making significant progress in foreign trade in 2024, according to the general customs administration.
Among the achievements, the number of private companies that carried out import-export activities exceeded 600,000 in 2024 for the first time to reach 609,000. Chinese private companies have also become the largest high -tech products traders in the country, their share having increased by three percentage points to 48.5% of the total of high -tech products in 2024.
In addition, private companies have represented for the first time more than half of Chinese imports of consumer goods, their share having increased by 2.8 percentage points to 51.3%, and even more than 60% in categories such as cosmetics and fruits.
Chinese private companies continued to carry out the country’s foreign trade with transactions totaling 24,330 billion yuan (around 3.400 billion dollars) last year, showing an increase of 8.8% in annual shift and contributing to 55.5 % of the total value of the country’s foreign trade.
At the same time, companies with foreign capital registered 12,800 billion trade yuans last year, an increase of 1.5%, with an acceleration in the second half of 2024. State companies contributed to foreign trade up to 6.610 billion yuan, playing an essential role in importing strategic products, including cereals and energy resources.
The total number of companies engaged in import-export activities, whether private, public or foreign capital, has reached a record level of nearly 700,000 in 2024.
