By He Yin, People’s Daily
“Resilient,” “optimistic,” “encouraging”—these are among the most frequently used descriptors in global media analyses of China’s first-quarter economic performance.
Amid severe disruptions to global trade and widespread pessimism permeating market expectations, the Chinese economy has delivered a robust start to 2025. It has maintained steady momentum amid signs of recovery, signaling a commitment to high-quality development while injecting much-needed confidence into a world economy fraught with uncertainty.
Despite rising unilateralism and protectionism worldwide, China’s economy continues to forge ahead, remaining a key engine of global growth. Official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that China’s gross domestic product (GDP) reached 31.8758 trillion yuan ($4.36 trillion) in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 5.4 percent year on year at constant prices, and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 1.2 percent. This signals the strong resilience and momentum of the Chinese economy.
Notably, the 5.4 percent growth outperformed both 2024’s annual growth of 5% and first quarter of 2024’s growth of 5.3%, cementing China’s position as one of the best-performing major economies.
Bernd Einmeier, Chairman of the German-Chinese Association for Economy, Education and Culture, noted that China’s relatively stable growth amid a complex external environment represents an important global public good, effectively countering uncertainties in global markets.
By actively expanding and diversifying its markets and deepening cooperation on industrial and supply chains, China has not only strengthened its own economic resilience, but also enabled its trading partners to pursue common development.
In the first quarter, China’s total imports and exports of goods reached 10.3 trillion yuan, making a year-on-year increase of 1.3% and establishing a new benchmark for the same period. China’s exports to over 170 countries and regions recorded growth, with exports to Asian and African markets exceeding the global average pace. Trade volumes with Belt and Road partner countries grew 2.2 percent year on year, constituting 51.1 percent of China’s total trade volume. Exports of sporting goods to the EU and cosmetics to Southeast Asia both posted double-digit growth.
Domestic trade firms are swiftly adapting to evolving international demand, launching more high-quality, innovative, and trendy products, fostering a more balanced and diversified trade structure with stronger resilience.
The economy is accelerating its transition toward greener, innovation-driven, and smart manufacturing systems, with new growth drivers gaining momentum. French newspaper Le Monde described the 137th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) a “barometer” of China’s trade with the world, noting that buyers from all over the globe continued sourcing goods from China, which reinforced the country’s reputation as the “world’s factory.”
From small appliances like coffee machines and robotic vacuum cleaners to large-scale marine engineering equipment, Chinese manufacturing is accelerating its transition to advanced, intelligent, and eco-friendly production. Having dominated global manufacturing output for 15 consecutive years, China has maintained its unparalleled position as the world’s largest manufacturing powerhouse through a fully integrated industrial system and unmatched supporting capabilities.
Analysts emphasized that China’s robust industrial capacity, seamless global supply chain integration, and rising technological competitiveness have underpinned its resilience amid global headwinds.
As macroeconomic policies continue to gain traction and innovation-driven growth continue to accelerate, a new development model driven by both domestic demand and innovation is taking shape.
In the first quarter, China’s total retail sales of consumer goods rose by 4.6 percent year on year, marking a 1.1 percentage points acceleration compared to 2024. The value-added of high-tech manufacturing enterprises above the designated size grew by 9.7 percent, while that of the information transmission, software, and information technology services sector expanded by 10.3 percent.
This upward trajectory has been reinforced by targeted policy support and accelerating industrial innovation. For example, the launch of a direct shipping route between Zhuhai in south China’s Guangdong province and Brazil has opened a new maritime corridor linking the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with Santana Port in Brazil. Multiple e-commerce platforms have pledged investments to help foreign trade enterprises explore the domestic market, while leading supermarket chains have opened “green channels” to streamline access to premium export products.
These measures are gradually unlocking the potential of China’s super-sized market while advancing high-level opening up, fostering positive interaction and shared growth between China and the world.
China’s economy has a stable foundation, numerous strengths, remarkable resilience and vast potential. The dominating trend of a sound Chinese economy for the long term and the elements supporting it have not changed.
By focusing on doing its own works well, China will continue pursuing high-quality development and expanding high-level opening up. In doing so, it will share development opportunities with the world and inject greater stability and certainty to the global economy.
Ships to be exported are manufactured at Jinling Shipyard of China Merchants Industry Holdings Co., Ltd. in Nanjing, east China’s Jiangsu province. (Photo by Fang Dongxu/People’s Daily Online)
Workers manufacture high-end cameras in a workshop of a technology company in Suqian, east China’s Jiangsu province. (Photo by Xu Changliang/People’s Daily Online)
Containers are loaded onto and unloaded from ships at a full-automated terminal of Qingdao Port, east China’s Shandong province. (Photo by Zhang Jingang/People’s Daily Online)
