The strong growth in both imports and exports reflects not only rising global demand for China-made products, but also the resilient consumption capacity of the world"s second largest economy, Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Tuesday, highlighting the country"s stabilizing role in international trade.

　　Among them, China"s trade with ASEAN reached 1.24 trillion yuan, up 20.3 percent year-on-year, with both imports and exports recording double-digit growth.

　　During the same period, trade with the EU totaled 998.9 billion yuan, rising 19.9 percent, as both imports and exports saw positive gains.

　　Bilateral trade with Latin America also grew strongly, up 19.7 percent to 674 billion yuan.

　　Notably, trade with partner countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) surged to 4.02 trillion yuan, marking a year-on-year increase of 20 percent.

　　China-made advanced products have also gained foothold worldwide. Looking at key commodities, for example, the country"s exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 2.89 trillion yuan in the first two months, up 24.3 percent year-on-year, reflecting the growing global demand for China"s advanced manufacturing products.

　　The strong growth in both imports and exports in the first two months has continued the momentum from last year, marking a strong start to 2026, the first year of China"s 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30).

　　"The growth trend in trade demonstrates the important role China plays in international trade. The rapid expansion reflects not only traditional industrial goods but also advanced manufacturing products, which are creating fresh drivers of growth," Zhou said.