China looks to diversify markets to negate global volatility

China is to step up market diversification and reduce reliance on the United States market, as the US’s volatile tariff policy has become a major source of global economic uncertainty, officials and exporters have said.

Speaking at a news conference in Beijing, Wang Lingjun, deputy head of China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC), said the country will continue working with partners such as the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to deepen trade and economic co-operation.

Lyu Daliang, director of the GAC’s department of statistics and analysis, said that despite a complex and challenging external environment “the sky won’t fall” for China’s exports.

According to recent data from the GAC, China’s foreign trade recorded a steady performance in the first quarter, with the total goods trade value growing 1.3 percent year-on-year to 10.3 trillion yuan ($1.41 trillion).

“China has made steady progress in diversifying its foreign trade market in recent years, bolstering the development of its trading partners while strengthening its own economic resilience,” Lyu said.

Data shows that China’s export and import value with countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative totalled 5.26 trillion yuan in the first quarter, up 2.2% year-on-year, while its trade with ASEAN member states soared 7.1% year-on-year to 1.71 trillion yuan.

Zhou Mi, a researcher at the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said China’s actions have received support from many of its trading partners for providing greater certainty, space for enhanced international cooperation and the stabilization of global supply chains.

The EU is ready to strengthen communication with China and promote expanded two-way market access, investment and industrial cooperation, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

To mitigate the risks caused by the US’s tariff hikes, China’s major foreign trade cities, including Dongguan and Shenzhen in Guangdong province, Suzhou in Jiangsu province and Ningbo in Zhejiang province, have introduced policies to develop emerging markets, explore opportunities in domestic sales and cope with global supply chain disruptions.

GDP rises 5.4% year-on-year in the first quarter

China’s gross domestic product expanded by 5.4% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, the same pace as the previous quarter, official data showed, showing a steady recovery despite headwinds and mounting global trade uncertainties.

The country’s GDP grew to 31.88 trillion yuan ($4.35 trillion) in the first quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). On a quarter-on-quarter basis, China’s GDP grew by 1.2% in the first quarter, the NBS said.

Despite the improvement in key economic indicators, the NBS warned of pressures from a more complicated and grimmer external environment and lacklustre domestic demand, saying the foundation for sustained recovery is yet to be consolidated.

In the next step, the NBS said the country should implement more proactive and effective macro policies. More efforts should also be made to stimulate the vitality of market entities of all types and actively respond to uncertainties from the external environment.

Figures released by the NBS showed China’s value-added industrial output rose by 7.7% in March after a 5.9% growth in the first two months of the year.

In the first quarter, value-added industrial output grew by 6.5 % compared with the same period last year, while in the last quarter of 2024 it rose by 5.7% from a year earlier.

Retail sales, a key measurement of consumer spending, increased by 5.9% on the 4% growth recorded in the first two months.

In the first quarter, retail sales rose by 4.6% compared with the same period last year, while in the last quarter of 2024, they surged 3.8% from a year earlier.