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In the first quarter of 2025, China's foreign trade showed steady performance, with the total goods trade volume increasing by 1.3 percent year-on-year to 10.3 trillion yuan ($1.41 trillion), according to the General Administration of Customs.

 

Exports rose 6.9 percent to 6.13 trillion yuan, while imports declined 6 percent to 4.17 trillion yuan year-on-year. Although imports fell in the first three months of this year, the growth rate of the overall import and export value has rebounded — it fell 2.2 percent in January, remained unchanged in February and grew by 6 percent in March.

 

The data indicate that the country has maintained its position as the world's second-largest importer for 16 consecutive years, with an average annual growth rate of 5.4 percent, and its share in global imports has also steadily increased from 7.9 percent to 10.5 percent.

 

The growth rate of China's trade with the countries and regions taking part in the construction of the Belt and Road was 2.2 percent in the first quarter year-on-year, 0.9 percentage points higher than the overall average. China's trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations hit 1.71 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.1 percent year-on-year.

 

In the first quarter, the imports and exports of mechanical and electrical products, particularly household appliances, laptops, electronic components as well as automatic data processing equipment parts, ships and marine engineering equipment, amounted to 5.29 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.7 percent, making them key drivers of the overall growth of the country's foreign trade.

 

It is worth noting that foreign-invested enterprises still play an important role in China's foreign trade. In the first quarter, the import and export value of foreign-invested enterprises in China was 2.99 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.4 percent year-on-year, accounting for 29 percent of the total and achieving growth for four consecutive quarters.

 

In the first quarter of this year, there were more than 67,000 foreign-invested enterprises involved in imports and exports, a record high in the same period over the past three years. They accounted for more than 40 percent of China's exports of high-tech products such as electronic information products, biomedicine and medical instruments.

 

As the restrictions on foreign investment access in China's manufacturing industry have been completely lifted, the green, digital and intelligent transformation of relevant industries, and the market-oriented, legal and international first-class business environment of China are both conducive to helping foreign-invested enterprises fully display their advantages in China and gain an advantage in global competition.

 

Private enterprises have always been the main force of China's foreign trade, and their import and export value in the first quarter was 5.85 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.8 percent year-on-year, accounting for 56.8 percent of China's foreign trade, an increase of 2.4 percentage points over the same period last year.

 

Private enterprises have become an important force fueling China's innovation-driven growth, promoting the high-end, intelligent and green transformation of the manufacturing sector. They are indispensable to China's new energy products continuing to play an important role in the global green transformation. In the first quarter, China's exports of wind turbines, lithium batteries, and electric vehicles increased by 43.2 percent, 18.8 percent and 8.2 percent year-on-year respectively.

 

Meanwhile, the majority of export companies have quickly responded to the diversified demands of the global market. Some traditional industries have launched customized products to adapt to the fast-changing market.

 

At present, China's exports are undoubtedly facing a complex and severe external situation, as the US administration's abuse of tariffs is inevitably having a negative impact on global trade, including that of China. But the country has resolutely implemented necessary countermeasures not only to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, but also to defend international trade rules and international fairness and justice.

 

China will unswervingly promote high-level opening-up to the outside world and carry out mutually beneficial and win-win economic and trade cooperation with all countries.

 

In the process, China will never stop building a diversified market and deepening cooperation with all parties in the industry and supply chains, which will not only facilitate the development of the other party, but also enhance the resilience of the Chinese economy. China's huge domestic market, complete industrial system, efficient policymaking and effective execution system will continuously serve as stabilizers of the situation, helping the country counter external changes and risks with domestic stability and certainty.

China has implemented brand new tariffs of 84% on the importation of all US products, a measure that caused stock markets to decline further, heightening anxieties of further intensification in Donald Trump’s trade conflict.

 

The Chinese finance ministry announced on Wednesday that it would enforce 84% tariffs on US goods starting Thursday, an increase from the previously stated 34%.

 

This decision followed shortly after new tariffs on imports to the United States from multiple economies surged, with tariffs placed on Chinese commodities since Trump's return to the White House hitting an astounding 104%.

 

China’s response caused stock markets, which had tumbled on Wednesday, to fall even more with key indices down in the UK, Germany, France, and Spain. The FTSE 100 in London dropped by 3.5%, Germany's Dax index fell by 3.8%, France’s Cac 40 decreased by 3.9%, and Spain's Ibex dipped by 3.2%.

 

Prior to the announcement of the 84% tariffs, the Chinese government stated it was not looking to engage in a trade conflict, but “will never stand by and let the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese people be harmed and stripped.”

 

The global economy has been disturbed since broad US tariffs of 10% went into effect over the weekend, causing significant market sell-offs globally and inciting worries of a recession.

 

The declines in Europe followed another volatile day on several Asian markets. Japan’s Nikkei index closed almost 4% down, while Taiwan’s leading stock index was 5.8% lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index recovered some earlier losses to end 0.4% lower, and South Korea’s Kospi 200 index dropped by 1.8%.

 

Meanwhile, China’s stock markets rose, seemingly weathering the challenges after government measures. The SSE composite index in Shanghai closed 1.1% higher, while the Shenzhen SE composite increased by 2.2%.

 

Oil prices dropped for a fifth consecutive day on Wednesday, reaching the lowest level in four years, since February 2021, due to concerns that a global trade conflict would lessen demand and impact economic growth negatively. Brent crude oil futures prices declined to as low as $58.47.

China has responded forcefully to Donald Trump’s “bullying” tariffs, raising fears that the intensifying trade war might cause a global recession and triggering fresh chaos in the financial markets.

 

Beijing retaliated on Friday with 34% additional punitive tariffs on all U.S. imports, mirroring the U.S. decision and worsening a sell-off in global stock markets.

 

Since Trump’s Rose Garden announcement on Wednesday evening, about $5 trillion (£4 trillion) in value has been lost from global stock markets, analysts calculated.

 

In the UK, the FTSE 100 index of leading shares fell more than 7% from Monday, marking its worst trading week since late February 2020, when concern over the Covid-19 pandemic was overwhelming the markets.

 

The significant escalation in trade tensions between the two largest economies in the world has heightened concerns among investors regarding risks to global growth.

 

The chair of the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve, warned that the trade war would lead to “higher inflation and slower growth,” as Jerome Powell resisted Trump's calls to lower interest rates.

 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also warned that the escalating trade war could impact global economic growth. The tariffs “pose a significant risk to the global outlook amid sluggish growth,” according to IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva.

 

China’s retaliation came after Trump imposed 34% tariffs on Chinese goods, which were already subject to a 20% levy, increasing the total levy to 54%. He also imposed substantial tariffs on neighboring Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, through which billions of dollars of Chinese exports are processed en route to the U.S.

 

Trump responded on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday, stating: “CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED – THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!”

 

The UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said ministers would continue discussions with Washington, hoping that the 10% levy on UK exports could be removed. The UK offers a series of concessions, including reducing the £1 billion-a-year digital services tax for some of the largest tech firms.

 

“We are committed to doing everything possible to secure the best deal for British industry, working closely with them to protect prosperity and jobs here in the UK,” she stated.

 

Financial markets are anticipating an additional three interest rate cuts from the Bank of England by the year's end, weighing the risks of slower growth, as some analysts caution that a slowdown may compel Reeves to increase taxes in her autumn budget.

 

“Given her adherence to fiscal rules, the central expectation must be that if she remains committed, significant tax increases in the autumn are likely,” expressed Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the banking watchdog created after the subprime mortgage meltdown and the 2008 global financial crisis, has been thrown into chaos as the Trump administration works to drastically limit its operations.

 

Last month, workers at the CFPB were told to stop working, effectively shutting down the agency, though that order has since been challenged by a federal judge.

 

Although the CFPB, which is tasked with ensuring banks, lenders and other financial companies play fair with consumers, is severely weakened, Americans shouldn’t be too worried about a repeat of the subprime mortgage crisis that led to its creation, experts told CNN. Lenders and banks are currently more stringently regulated than they were in the years leading up to the crisis, and Americans who borrow money are more protected.

 

Still, with the hobbling of an agency that often acts as a safety net for consumers, Americans may need to become their own consumer advocates when dealing with lenders of all types.

 

“The CFPB’s mission is to protect individuals. After the financial crisis, we saw there were a lot of individuals who had been taken advantage of,” said John Griffin, a finance professor at The University of Texas at Austin who has argued that rampant fraud played a role in the financial crisis. “But I don’t think the CFPB would be able to stop another financial crisis.”

 

The agency, which was a brainchild of Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren when she was a Harvard Law professor, was created as part of Dodd-Frank, a 2010 federal law passed in an attempt to correct the financial vulnerabilities that contributed to the global financial crisis. The CFPB has since delivered $19.7 billion in consumer relief, with 195 million people eligible for that relief, according to the agency.

 

“Gutting consumer protections while simultaneously permitting financial firms to take on greater risk is a dangerous combination,” Warren said in a statement to CNN. “Working families cannot afford for policymakers to repeat the mistakes of the past.”

 

The CFPB did not respond to a request for comment on the impact of its recent changes.

 

A safer home loan market?

 

Buying a home is usually the biggest purchase Americans make in their lifetimes. Although it’s always been important to fully understand the terms of a loan when taking out a mortgage, that may take on even greater importance if the CFPB is diminished.

 

Still, the home loan market is safer now than it once was, said Ira Rheingold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates.

 

“When Dodd-Frank passed, it included mortgage reform,” Rheingold said. “The types of loans that were being made that created the subprime crisis really can’t be made anymore, because they would be violating the law.”

 

The housing meltdown of 2008 occurred partly because banks and lenders gave out risky home loans to people who couldn’t afford them. Those mortgages were then bundled into complex financial products that collapsed when homeowners started defaulting on their loans.

 

The meltdown led to a crash in home prices and millions of foreclosures.

 

Home loans that required little-to-no proof of income were common before 2008, but today, such loans are rare, said Laurie Goodman, founder of the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute.

 

“Prior to the financial crisis, income wasn’t adequately documented, you sort of took the borrower’s word for it,” she said. “Today, a ‘no doc’ loan would be extremely foreign.”

 

Housing market protections codified into law in the years after the financial crisis also include stronger lending standards and clearer disclosures for loan holders.

 

Here’s what you should know

 

However, the defanging of the CFPB would still strip away vital protections for consumers, said Griffin.

 

“Gutting an organization like the CFPB does hurt investors on smaller financial transactions where they can get taken advantage of,” he said. “The CFPB has played a role to provide additional scrutiny to go after unjust fees or unjust financial transactions.”

 

When borrowing money for a home, Americans should pay close attention to the terms of the loan, ensuring there are no hidden fees or relationships. At a time when mortgage rates hover just under 7%, borrowers should shop around to multiple lenders to ensure the most favorable terms.

 

The agency protects consumers from more than just predatory mortgage loans, though. Its broad purpose is to protect from financial abuses in general, including those from credit card companies, auto loans and student loans.

 

Rheingold recommended that consumers continue to file complaints with the CFPB when they have issues with financial products or services. If the CFPB doesn’t take immediate action, your state’s attorney general or legal services programs may still file a lawsuit against a bad-behaving company if you raise the issue to them, he said.

 

Some fear that financial companies could grow increasingly emboldened to engage in predatory practices like hidden fees and unfair loan terms, though it’s hard to predict exactly what those abuses would be.

 

“Will we go back and make the exact same mistakes as we have in the past? We probably won’t. But we’ll make a different set of mistakes,” said Goodman.