Foreign trade hits new high in first half

China's total goods exports and imports reached a new high in the first half of the year despite challenges such as escalating trade protectionism and intensifying geopolitical tensions, signaling an encouraging improvement in demand both at home and overseas, analysts said.

The stronger-than-expected performance suggests that an array of supportive policy measures over the past months have helped anchor investor and consumer expectations and strengthen supply chain resilience and competitiveness, they added, cautioning that the road ahead may remain bumpy due to fresh trade restrictions tipped by major economies.

The goods trade volume expanded 6.1 percent year-on-year to 21.17 trillion yuan ($2.91 trillion) in the January-June period, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Friday. Exports rose 6.9 percent, while imports climbed 5.2 percent.