Trade and economic co-operation under the Belt and Road initiative chalked up a fresh report card in 2025, Vice-Minister of Commerce Yan Dong told a State Council Information Office press conference on 26 January, summarising the year in three “news”.

   New highlights in trade   

       Merchandise trade between China and B&R partners reached RMB 23.6 trillion, up 6.3 %—2.5 percentage points faster than overall trade—and lifted the partners’ share to 51.9 %. Electronic parts, machinery and equipment exports to the partners and imports of computers and parts surged, helping raise their industrial levels. The “Silk-Road E-Commerce Benefits the World” carnival, joined by more than 100 countries, yielded 240-plus deals and brought more partner-country products into China.

   New vitality in two-way investment   

       Non-financial direct investment by China in the partners rose 18 % to RMB 283.4 billion, while their direct investment in China grew 1.9 % to RMB 116.8 billion. Eighteen new agreements on industrial & supply-chain, digital-economy and green-mineral co-operation were signed; China-Malaysia and China-Indonesia “two-countries, twin-parks” projects moved forward.

   New results in project delivery   

       Chinese contractors booked RMB 1.1 trillion in completed turnover in the partners, up 9.6 %. Over 20,000 China-Europe freight-train trips ran; the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and Hungary-Serbia rail scored major milestones. More than 700 aid projects—flagship schemes and “small-but-beautiful” livelihood works—were implemented.

   Next steps   

• Optimise two-way investment space by staging “Invest in China” road-shows, guiding orderly cross-border supply-chain layouts and making full use of border/ cross-border economic co-operation zones, overseas industrial parks and “two-countries, twin-parks” to negotiate more supply-chain deals.

• Expand emerging areas—green minerals, clean energy, digital economy, AI—through more co-operation agreements and high-standard “Silk-Road E-Commerce” pilot zones.

• Deliver quality projects—blend signature infrastructure with “small-but-beautiful” livelihood works, continue brands such as Juncao, and help partners upgrade infrastructure and living conditions for shared development.