Photo taken on July 7, 2023 shows robots transferring containers at Tianjin Port in North China's Tianjin. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - China's customs data showed Thursday that the country's total goods imports and exports expanded 2.1 percent year-on-year in yuan terms in the first half of 2023.

The country saw goods imports and exports exceeding 20 trillion yuan (about $2.8 trillion) for the first time in the January-June period, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Exports grew 3.7 percent year-on-year to 11.46 trillion yuan while imports edged down 0.1 percent from a year earlier to 8.64 trillion yuan, the data showed.  

China has seen its economic performance picking up on the whole despite a severe and complex external environment, while the volume and quality of its foreign trade improved steadily and in line with expectations in the first six months of the year.

The goods imports and exports in the first and second quarters reached 9.76 trillion yuan and 10.34 trillion yuan, respectively, with both registering year-on-year growth, according to the data

The goods imports and exports in the first and second quarters reached 9.76 trillion yuan and 10.34 trillion yuan, respectively, with both registering year-on-year growth, according to the data.

Data also revealed that China's foreign trade had maintained an upward trajectory in the first half of the year.

The imports and exports recorded in the second quarter was 6 percent higher than that of the first quarter. Both May and June registered 1.2 percent month-on-month increases.

The scale of private enterprises' imports and exports grew notably in the January-June period, increasing 8.9 percent year-on-year to 10.59 trillion yuan. The value represented 52.7 percent of the country's total.

The import and export value of foreign-funded enterprises and state-owned enterprises accounted for 30.7 percent and 16.4 percent of the country's total, respectively.

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China's trade in goods with countries along the Belt and Road jumped 9.8 percent year-on-year in the first half the year, 7.7 percentage points higher than the country's overall trade growth during the same period.

The total value of trade in goods between China and the countries along the Belt and Road accounted for 34.3 percent of the country's total

The total value of trade in goods between China and the countries along the Belt and Road accounted for 34.3 percent of the country's total.

The data also revealed that the value of China's trade in goods with other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership rose 1.5 percent year-on-year in the same period.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained China's biggest trading partner in the first half of the year, with the two sides' trade in goods rising 5.4 percent year-on-year to 3.08 trillion yuan. The value accounted for 15.3 percent of China's total foreign trade value during this period.

China's trade in goods with the European Union rose 1.9 percent from a year earlier and accounted for 13.7 percent of China's total foreign trade value.

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The country's trade in goods with the United States declined 8.4 percent year-on-year to 2.25 trillion yuan, accounting for 11.2 percent of China's total.

The total export value of China's three major tech-intensive green products — solar batteries, lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles — soared 61.6 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2023.

Together they contributed 1.8 percentage points to the overall export growth during the same period.