Narrator: Deng Wei, Deputy Director, Foreign Trade Division, Commerce Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, Guangdong Province

Foreign trade connects international and domestic markets, serving as one of the three driving forces of economic growth and a barometer for gauging economic trends.

In the first quarter of this year, Shenzhen's foreign trade volume reached 1.32 trillion yuan ($193 billion), up 33.6 percent year on year — a record for the period — with exports of high-tech products growing by 21.5 percent. Shenzhen's total import and export value for 2025 reached 4.55 trillion yuan, maintaining its top position among Chinese cities for two consecutive years, accounting for 10 percent of the national total and marking its 33rd consecutive year as the nation's leading export city.

Beyond its global presence, what is even more important is Shenzhen's technological density in foreign trade. Shenzhen's high-tech industrial development has become a national benchmark, with the entire city serving as an incubator and accelerator for innovation and entrepreneurship. From BYD's new energy vehicles and Honor's smartphones, to Insta360's panoramic cameras and Shokz's bone conduction headphones, to Bambu Lab's 3D printers and Narwal's sweeping and mopping robots, Shenzhen's tech-driven products are selling globally. In 2025, exports of high-tech products grew by 10.1 percent.

What has shaped Shenzhen's strength in foreign trade? It stems from the combination of an effective market and a well-functioning government, and from the synergy of technological innovation, agile manufacturing and the global trade cycle. It also comes from the integration of production, supply and sales, domestic and foreign trade, and upstream and downstream supply chains, as well as from a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment.

Major provincial economic powerhouses must take on greater responsibilities, and major municipal economic powerhouses must shoulder important tasks as well. For Shenzhen, this means not only contributing steadily growing GDP but also developing viable solutions for high-quality development, ensuring that more "Intelligently Made in Shenzhen" products are marketed globally and reach every corner of the world.