BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign trade hit a record high in total value in 2024 as the world's second-largest economy further consolidated its top position globally in goods trade.

The nation's total goods imports and exports in yuan reached 43.85 trillion yuan (about 6.1 trillion U.S. dollars) last year, up 5 percent year on year, according to data released Monday by the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

Exports grew 7.1 percent year on year to 25.45 trillion yuan last year, while imports expanded 2.3 percent from one year earlier to 18.39 trillion yuan, the data showed.

At a government press conference held in Beijing on Monday, GAC deputy head Wang Lingjun said that China's foreign trade growth in 2024 was relatively fast among major economies in the world.

"China's foreign trade has concluded the year 2024 with a successful ending," Wang said as he provided data on December's imports and exports, which exceeded 4 trillion yuan, marking a record monthly high and up 6.8 percent year on year. Foreign trade jumped to 11.51 trillion yuan in the fourth quarter, with the quarterly growth rate also quickening by 0.4 percentage points compared to that in the third quarter.

The nation's status as the world's biggest goods trader was further strengthened with its exports and imports accounting for 14.5 percent and 10.5 percent of the world's total in the first three quarters of 2024, up 0.3 and 0.1 percentage points year on year, said Wang, citing data from the World Trade Organization.

He said the country's foreign trade achievements last year did not come easily, and they were a result of a raft of timely incremental policies rolled out by the central authorities as well as measures aimed at stabilizing foreign trade last year.

He said that last year, customs authorities introduced and implemented 16 measures to optimize the business environment at ports and facilitate enterprise customs clearance. Special actions to promote cross-border trade facilitation were also taken in 20 cities to create a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized first-class port business environment.

UPGRADED EXPORTS AND GROWING IMPORTS

Wang said that the structure of import and export products had also been continuously optimized and upgraded last year, with high-tech products reporting good growth numbers and a boom in new types of trade, such as cross-border e-commerce.

In 2024, machinery exports grew 8.7 percent, accounting for 59.4 percent of total exports. China also saw rapid growth in exports of high-tech products such as electric vehicles, 3D printers, and industrial robots. The data showed that the annual value of cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached 2.63 trillion yuan, an increase of 1 trillion yuan compared to 2020.

Meanwhile, the nation was at the forefront of green trade last year, and its green products trade made a significant contribution to the global response to climate change and the green and low-carbon transition in 2024, according to Lyu Daliang, director of the GAC's Department of Statistics and Analysis.

The official said China continued to report fast growth of green energy exports last year, including wind and solar equipment. In the field of green transport, the export volume of railway electric locomotives has increased for five consecutive years while the value of exported electric motorcycles and bicycles exceeded 40 billion yuan for the first time. Exports of electric vehicles exceeded 2 million units.

In terms of imports, Lyu said China's growing imports have helped drive trading partners' development.

In 2024, the data showed that China's imports of electronic components, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and computer parts grew 10.1 percent, 21 percent, and 62.6 percent, respectively.

During the same period, China's consumer market grew steadily, with the import demand for many consumer goods remaining relatively strong. For instance, the data showed that imports of clothing, fruits, and wine rose 5.6 percent, 8.6 percent, and 38.8 percent, respectively.

Lyu further explained that a slower growth rate in imports compared to exports last year was partly due to a drop in commodity import prices. For instance, prices of imported crude oil and iron ore fell by 9 percent and 16.7 percent, respectively, which was a drag on the growth rate of imports.