China confident of sustaining foreign trade development: commerce ministry

China is confident and well-prepared to continue promoting steady growth in and improving the quality of foreign trade, the Ministry of Commerce said on Aug 21.

Currently, global economic and trade development continues to face significant uncertainties, with multiple international organizations noting that tariff barriers have substantially increased global trade costs, ministry spokesperson He Yongqian told a news conference.

These tariff barriers have seriously affected the efficiency and stability of global industrial and supply chains, posing downward risks to global trade, the spokesperson said.

Against this backdrop, China will continue to uphold the principle of expanding high-standard opening up and steadfastly manage its own affairs, addressing various uncertainties with the certainty of high-quality development, according to the spokesperson.

"We are also ready to work with more trading partners to jointly cope with challenges and share development opportunities," the spokesperson said.

China's trade in goods totaled 25.7 trillion yuan ($3.6 trillion) in the first seven months of 2025, up 3.5 percent year-on-year, with the growth pace accelerating by 0.6 percentage points from the first half of the year, according to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs.