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China's foreign trade rises 3.5% in first seven months of 2025;

China’s NEV penetration rate surpassed 54% in July.

Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours 

China's foreign trade has maintained a growth trend in the first seven months of this year, with total imports and exports reaching CNY25.7 trillion, up 3.5 percent year-on-year. 

The growth rate accelerated by 0.6 percentage points compared with the first half of the year, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Thursday.

Of the total, exports reached CNY15.31 trillion, up 7.3 percent. While imports declined by 1.6 percent to CNY10.39 trillion, the decline narrowed by 1.1 percentage points compared with the first half of the year.

In July alone, China’s exports expanded 7.2 percent, while imports jumped 4.1 percent compared to a year ago, beating market forecasts. The country's trade value grew by 6.7 percent to CNY3.91 trillion last month, customs data showed.

Notable data include mechanical and electrical products trade, which now accounts for 60 percent of exports, with exports of automatic data processing equipment and parts, integrated circuits and automobiles all growing, highlighting the initial results of China's efforts to promote new quality productive forces.

Looking at the data by country and region, ASEAN remained to be China's largest trading partner, with total trade reaching CNY4.29 trillion, up 9.4 percent, accounting for 16.7 percent of China's total foreign trade. 

The EU was China's second-largest trading partner, with trade totaling CNY3.35 trillion, up 3.9 percent, making up 13 percent of total trade. The US ranked third, with trade amounting to CNY2.42 trillion, down 11.1 percent, accounting for 9.4 percent of the total.

During the same period, China's total imports and exports with countries in joint construction of the Belt and Road reached CNY13.29 trillion, an increase of 5.5 percent.

GBA express

Hong Kong flagship carrier Cathay Pacific reported a 1 percent increase in first half profit to HK$3.7 billion on a 9.5 percent growth in revenue from a year earlier. The airline said it is exercising an option with Boeing to buy 14 more 777-9 jets and warned that the outlook for cargo transport remains uncertain.

CaoCao Chuxing opened up 7.4 percent today after the Chinese ride-hailing firm announced a deal with Hong Kong-licensed Victory Securities to tokenize its green mobility assets under the city’s regulated real-world asset tokenization.

IQiyi is reportedly seeking to raise US$300 million for a listing in Hong Kong this year, media reported citing anonymous source. The Netflix-style streaming service, owned by Baidu, has begun discussions with global banks about a second listing in the city, the people said. IQiyi’s US stock rose as much as 6 percent but pared gains to close little changed in New York.

Industry and company news

China's car sales rose 10 percent to more than 12.7 million units in the first seven months from a year earlier, with those of new energy vehicles (NEVs) jumping 30 percent to over 6.47 million, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association. In July, retail sales of NEVs reached 1 million units, up 14 percent year-on-year, with the NEV market's retail penetration rate reaching 54.7 percent.

Chinese drone maker DJI launched a robotic vacuum cleaner series yesterday, expanding its tech expertise beyond aerial devices. The ROMO series features sweeping and mopping capabilities, starting at CNY4,699.

ByteDance has expanded its 2026 campus recruitment program by about 25 percent from a year earlier, driven by a growing shortage of tech talent. The tech giant recently launched its latest annual hiring campaign, aiming to recruit over 5,000 graduates across eight categories, including R&D, product management, and operations.

Asia-Pacific highlights

Thailand and Cambodia on Thursday signed an agreement on border issue after an extraordinary meeting of the General Border Committee, according to a Thai representative, Xinhua reports.

The China-Laos Railway has transported over 14 million tons of import and export goods, amounting to more than CNY60 billion, since its opening in December 2021, according to Kunming Customs on Wednesday. The railway's cross-border freight volume exceeded 3.43 million tons with a value surpassing CNY15.4 billion in the first seven months this year, both of which are record highs for this period.

The magnitude of bilateral trade decline seen in dollar-denominated terms between China and Australia continues to narrow, as GAC data show that bilateral trade saw a negative growth of 9.7 percent in July year-on-year, the fourth consecutive month of improvement. In terms of Chinese goods exports to Australia, there was a positive growth of 2.3 percent in July, up from 0.3 percent in June.