In the complex trade environment of 2025, Guangdong’s foreign trade demonstrated strong resilience, achieving steady growth in the first eight months, and enterprises’ overseas expansion also showed a diversified new trend.
At 9:00 AM on September 6th, the X9024 China-Europe freight train, fully loaded with household goods, clothing, footwear, and other products, slowly departed from Guangzhou International Port under the supervision of customs officers from Guangzhou Railway Station Customs, a branch of Guangzhou Customs. This train is expected to arrive in Istanbul, Turkey, in 20 days. Its launch is of great significance, marking the first China-Europe freight train service from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to Turkey.
In the first eight months of this year, Guangzhou International Port performed exceptionally well, operating 233 international freight trains, transporting 19,800 TEUs with a cargo value of 5.209 billion yuan. The number of freight trains operated accounted for 40% of Guangdong Province’s total, ranking first among China-Europe freight train stations in the province. Private enterprises played a crucial role in the growth of Guangdong’s foreign trade. In the first eight months, Guangdong’s private enterprises’ imports and exports reached 3.99 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.8%, accounting for 64.2% of the total import and export value. For example, Guangzhou Qingtian Intelligent Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., closely following international demand, has seen its home appliance production line equipment and other products sell well in countries such as Brazil and India. This year, its exports exceeded 450 million yuan, with exports to other BRICS countries exceeding 160 million yuan, accounting for over 30% of its total exports. Emerging markets have become a key focus for Guangdong enterprises going global. In the first half of the year, Guangdong’s imports and exports to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 1.79 trillion yuan, a 3.8% increase. Imports and exports to Africa and the five Central Asian countries grew by 8.5% and 23.1% respectively. The overseas expansion model of Guangdong enterprises is also constantly upgrading, shifting from traditional “product export” to supply chain collaboration and exporting based on standards and rules. At the 3rd China International Supply Chain Promotion Expo, Guangdong showcased the supply chain advantages of 64 leading enterprises. Taking Miniso as an example, in 2024, its revenue reached 17 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.8%, with overseas revenue reaching 6.68 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 42.0%, and 7,780 stores worldwide. It has driven the development of the entire industry through a model of “brand going global – order return – supply chain upgrade”. Furthermore, Guangdong enterprises are actively promoting “digital globalization”. Cloud provides services for overseas apps, and Huawei Cloud builds “digital infrastructure”. The prosperity of digital trade has also promoted cultural globalization, with works such as *Black Myth* and *The Legend of Mushroom Warriors* fully demonstrating the international influence of Guangdong’s digital cultural industry. The globalization path of Guangdong enterprises is constantly evolving, participating in global competition at a higher level, and is expected to achieve even greater success in the international market in the future, bringing more Chinese goods to the world.
