An aerial drone photo taken on Sept. 4, 2025 shows cargo ships berthed at a container dock of Qinzhou Port in Qinzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Photo: Xinhua

A Chinese vice-minister of commerce on Tuesday chaired a roundtable meeting with representatives from a dozen trade firms, import and export chambers of commerce and experts, vowing full support to stabilize the foreign trade sector in the remaining months of the year, according to Chinese commerce ministry. 

Li Chenggang, China international trade representative at the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and vice-minister of commerce, said that the Communist Party of China Central Committee attaches great importance to foreign trade work, speaking in the roundtable meeting with representatives from 12 trade companies, six import and export chambers of commerce, and experts, the MOFCOM said in a statement posted on Thursday.

During the meeting, views were exchanged on the current foreign trade situation and ways to support the development of foreign trade enterprises, per the statement.

Facing a complex and severe external environment this year, China's foreign trade has withstood pressure and achieved overall stability with positive momentum, he said.

Over the past few months, guided by the important consensus between the two heads of state of China and the US, the economic and trade teams of the two countries held talks in Geneva, London and Stockholm, and reached positive common understandings and made efforts to implement the outcomes, thus stabilizing economic and trade relations between the two countries, according to Li.

On Thursday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson also commented on China's foreign trade performance.

Asked to comment on China's August trade data, which showed a slower growth rate, with some attributing it to declining exports to the US as the effect of a tariff truce with the US faded, and robust trade with the EU, ASEAN, Africa and Latin America, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that despite the increasing instability and uncertainty in today's world economy, China's foreign trade kept growing and maintained steady development.

The diversity in China's foreign trade not only effectively alleviated the impact brought by the volatility of the external trade environment and promoted the stability and improvement of global industrial and supply chains, but also delivered tangible benefit to both domestic and international consumers as well as companies from all countries operating in China, Lin said, adding that facts prove once again that China's foreign trade remains an important source of growth for global trade and the Chinese economy remains a vital pillar for global economic growth.

"We believe that as we continue to see the effect of the full range of policies China has adopted, the Chinese economy will continue to unleash more vitality and potential and continue to inject the precious certainty to global economic growth," Lin said.

Looking ahead, the MOFCOM will work with relevant parties to earnestly implement the policies and measures on stabilizing foreign trade, help solve the difficulties and problems facing foreign trade firms, strive to create a favorable external environment for companies to explore the international market, foster new drivers of foreign trade growth, and do everything possible to stabilize the overall performance of foreign trade.

China's total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms increased 3.5 percent year-on-year in August, marking the third consecutive month that both exports and imports achieved simultaneous growth, official data showed on Monday.

During the January-August period, China's goods trade also expanded 3.5 percent year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

Lü Daliang, director of the GAC's Department of Statistics and Analysis, said that China's goods trade has maintained a stable growth trajectory despite facing a severe and complex external environment.

Sun Chuanwang, a professor at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Thursday that China has during the past several years systematically expanded its circle of friends in foreign trade, effectively reducing its reliance on single markets and specific products, and significantly improved its ability to withstand disruptions from international supply chain fluctuations and geopolitical risks.

Through a number of supportive mechanisms such as the roundtable with foreign trade firms, the Chinese government has demonstrated its continued support to market actors, injecting confidence to overcome difficulties amid the complex external situations, Sun said. "The emphasis on fostering new growth drivers has pointed out the direction for the restructuring of trade."

A number of trade shows held in China this week, including the 25th China International Fair for Investment & Trade held in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province as well as the 2025 China International Fair for Trade in Services that opened in Beijing on Wednesday, have provided further acceleration of China's trade and investment momentum, as the country continues to signal its commitment to improving its business environment, promoting high-quality opening-up and expanding cooperation for win-win outcomes, according to analysts.

The operations of Chinese ports, seen as a barometer of foreign trade, have also underlined China's foreign trade resilience.

As of Thursday, Port of Ningbo Zhoushan in East China's Zhejiang Province had handled 30 million standard containers, achieving the benchmark 23 days earlier than last year, the port announced on Thursday.