The eastern Chinese city of Yiwu, known as a global commodities hub, saw foreign trade exceed 700 billion yuan (about 99 billion U.S. dollars) in the first 10 months of 2025 -- the highest on record for the period, indicating strong resilience despite a complex international trade backdrop, its customs data showed.

Yiwu's imports and exports reached 701.19 billion yuan (about 99.17 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-October period, exceeding the full-year total for 2024 and up 25.2 percent year on year. Exports rose 24.4 percent, while imports jumped 31.1 percent, data from the Yiwu Customs showed.

"In the first 10 months of this year, Yiwu conducted imports and exports with 230 countries and regions. Of these, 152 recorded trade volumes above 100 million yuan (about 14.14 million U.S. dollars), while 164 posted double-digit growth, 32 more than a year earlier," said Xu Xiaobing, deputy head of the statistics and analysis division at the Yiwu Customs.

From January to October this year, Yiwu recorded a 21.8 percent rise in trade with Africa and 14 percent with Latin America. Shipments to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries soared 51 percent, indicating vigorous growth.