Though the drums of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Canada, Mexico, USA have yet to sound, soccer-related industries in Yiwu in Zhejiang Province, known as the world’s supermarket, have already scored their breakthrough into the global market. Balls of every size, supporter apparel, trophies and medals—in Yiwu International Trade City, the world’s largest wholesale market for consumer goods, a wide array of World Cup merchandise is already on display, and local enterprises are fielding early orders for tournament-related products.

Wen Congjian, a vendor at the market, received more than a dozen orders for World Cup merchandise as early as two months ago. “We started designing supporter apparel for teams from the United States, Mexico, Brazil and other countries long ago, beginning with the host nations and most popular teams, and created several designs for each country,” he told Tide News, a local Zhejiang media outlet, in July. According to Yiwu Customs, from January to May, the city’s exports of sporting goods and equipment reached 4.79 billion yuan ($670 million), up 16.6 percent year on year.

Meanwhile, in Shenzhen, a tech hub in Guangdong Province, Zhao Weiqin also feels the “pulse” of the city’s booming foreign trade. More than a decade ago, Zhao founded a company specializing in the export of consumer electronics, supplying large supermarkets in the U.S. Over the following years, his company gradually grew; five years ago, he launched his own brand and began selling directly to customers on Amazon. He has also established an overseas warehouse in the U.S. state of California and invested in setting up factories across Southeast Asia.

“Shenzhen has a complete industrial chain, abundant talent and mature models for all kinds of foreign trade operations,” he told newspaper Shenzhen Special Zone Daily in July. During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, Shenzhen’s imports and exports totaled 17.4 trillion yuan ($2.4 trillion), accounting for 9.4 percent of the national total.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s foreign trade encountered major challenges, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao told a press conference on July 18. However, through multiple decisive measures to stabilize foreign trade and the concerted efforts of all parties involved, the sector has maintained steady growth and positive progress has been made in transforming the country into a trading powerhouse, he added.

Solid strides

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s trade in goods reached $6.16 trillion in 2024, up 32.4 percent from the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan in 2020, and ranking first in the world for eight consecutive years. In trade in services, total volume exceeded $1 trillion for the first time in 2024, ranking second globally.

“We are a major trading partner of over 150 countries and regions. We not only provide high-quality products and services to the world, but also ensure the resilience and stability of global industrial and supply chains,” Wang said.

Citing World Trade Organization (WTO) figures, Wang said goods imports by the Chinese mainland and China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region accounted for about 13.3 percent of global imports in 2024—close to the U.S.’ 13.6 percent. This makes China the world’s second largest import market, almost on par with the U.S., as well as a major export destination for nearly 80 countries and regions, according to the minister.

Additionally, China’s foreign trade structure is being upgraded and optimized. In 2024, hi-tech products accounted for 18.2 percent of its goods exports.

“China has seized the opportunities of a new round of industrial revolution, making rapid advances in smart manufacturing and digital technologies, which have, to a great extent, offset the adverse impact of low-end manufacturing relocation on exports and helped withstand the shocks brought by global supply chain transformations,” Sang Baichuan, Dean of the Institute of International Economy at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, told?Beijing Review.

He cited the “new trio”—electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar cells—as prime examples of China’s emerging export strengths, underscoring their strong global competitiveness and rapid growth.

“Moreover, China’s complete industrial ecosystem plays an irreplaceable role in global supply chains,” Sang added.

China has also made its trade partnerships more diversified. For example, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has remained China’s largest trading partner for five consecutive years, with bilateral trade in the first half of this year up 9.6 percent year on year. In 2024, trade with Belt and Road partner countries accounted for more than 50 percent of China’s total trade. The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative aims to boost connectivity along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes.

The share of exports to the U.S. fell from 17.4 percent in 2020 to 14.7 percent in 2024. In the first half of this year, exports to the U.S. dropped by 9.9 percent year on year, but overall exports grew 7.2 percent.

This “one drop, one rise” phenomenon shows that the production and supply chains supporting China’s foreign trade have become more complete, flexible and efficient, enhancing the country’s resilience and confidence in navigating risks and challenges, Wang said at the press conference.

Noting that China has long run a services trade deficit, Wang pointed out that the U.S. has been China’s largest source of said deficit. Considering China is the largest contributor to the U.S. goods trade deficit, he said this reflects the complementary strengths between the two economies.

“Trade between China and the U.S. meets mutual needs; some aspects are irreplaceable, or at least difficult to replace in the short term, and the relationship is fundamentally mutually beneficial and win-win,” Wang said.

“In the face of increasing external uncertainties and rising challenges and pressures, it is essential to develop risk-prevention measures, particularly by continuing to advance the strategy of market diversification, strengthening cooperation with RCEP countries and regions, and deepening economic and trade ties with Belt and Road partners,” Sang said.

The RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) is a free trade pact comprising the 10 ASEAN member states and five of their major trading partners, namely, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Sang added that China needs to advance its free trade agreement (FTA) strategy, referring to the policy of negotiating and signing FTAs with trading partners to promote economic integration as well as liberalize and facilitate trade and investment.

Various tools

China’s achievements in foreign trade stem from multiple facets. The development of free trade zones (FTZs) is a prime example. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the total number of China’s pilot FTZs reached 22. Some institutional innovations have been introduced, including the negative list management model—a regulatory approach used in trade and investment to define sectors or activities that are restricted or prohibited for foreign investors, which has now been extended to areas including cross-border services trade and cross-border data flows.

What’s more, the country is firmly committed to upholding the multilateral trading system and is actively and deeply involved in WTO reform, upholding the organization’s authority, Li Chenggang, China’s International Trade Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce, said at the press conference.

Meanwhile, China constructively participates in cooperation within multilateral mechanisms such as the Group of 20 (G20), BRICS, a group of emerging economies originally consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, consistently placing development at the center of the international economic and trade agenda.

China is expanding its global network of high-standard FTAs, according to Li. For example, China promoted the signing and entry into force of the RCEP in 2022, making it the world’s largest free trade area by economic scale and population coverage. China has formally applied to join high-standard agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, an FTA among 11 Asia-Pacific economies, and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, a new type of standalone trade agreement focusing exclusively on facilitating digital trade. Through FTAs, the vast majority of goods traded between China and its free trading partners are exempted from tariffs.

“During the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, China must expand opening up and proactively enhance the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, using openness to drive reform and development, and countering anti-globalization headwinds,” Sang said. “This will help create a relatively stable institutional environment and external conditions for foreign trade, sustaining its growth momentum.”