Shanghai's foreign trade reached a record high in 2025, with total imports and exports hitting 4.51 trillion yuan ($647.7 billion), a 5.6 percent increase year-on-year.

According to data released by Shanghai Customs, imports totaled 2.49 trillion yuan in 2025, while exports reached 2.02 trillion yuan.

After a sluggish start early in the year, the city’s foreign trade sector quickly stabilized and posted a strong rebound.

Shanghai's 2025 trade volume jumped by 1 trillion yuan from the 2020 level, an increase equivalent to its entire annual trade with the European Union, its largest trading partner.

Trade with 167 countries and regions expanded during the year, with particularly strong growth seen in emerging markets, including Africa, India, and ASEAN countries.

High value-added products emerged as the key drivers of export growth.

Lithium battery exports rose by more than 30 percent, while exports of liquid cargo ships, including LNG carriers, climbed to 37.87 billion yuan. Exports of surgical robots skyrocketed by 370 percent, underscoring the rapid expansion of advanced manufacturing.

Shanghai's export portfolio ranged from heavy equipment — including Zhenhua Heavy Industries' port machinery, which holds more than 70 percent of the global market — to fast-growing consumer brands such as the make-up companies Judydoll and Joocyee.

Among Shanghai's 16 districts, 10 achieved foreign trade volumes each exceeding 100 billion yuan.

Pudong New Area made steady progress in building a world-class integrated circuit industrial cluster, while Songjiang recorded 274 billion yuan in trade by capitalizing on opportunities driven by the AI boom.

Minhang reported a 200 percent surge in imports of aircraft parts, and Jiading accounted for more than 70 percent of China's exports of lidar-based advanced driver-assistance systems.

Momentum in emerging industries continued to gather pace.

Shanghai-based robotics firm AgiBot recently announced the export of a batch of three humanoid robots, cleared under a new tariff code introduced on Jan 1 specifically for intelligent bionic robots.

Source: Jiefang Daily