Chinas foreign trade sustained its upward momentum in October with notable growth and improved structure， the General Administration of Customs of China said on November 7.

Trade volume expanded 4.6 percent year on year in the month， with exports jumping 7.6 percent year on year and imports climbing 0.9 percent in yuan terms.

In the fi rst 10 months of the year， foreign trade in goods totaled 25.95 trillion yuan （$3.91 trillion）， up 1.1 percent year on year， accelerating from an increase of 0.7 percent in the fi rst three quarters.

General trade， involving longer production chains and better reflecting the countrys manufacturing strength， edged up 2.8 percent during the 10-month period， taking a larger share of the total foreign trade in goods.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained Chinas largest trading partner during the period， followed by the EU and the United States.

Private companies played a signifi cant role in propelling trade growth. Their imports and exports expanded 10.5 percent in the first 10 months and accounted for 46.2 percent of the national total.

Mechanical and electrical products took the lions share of the exports， with their value reaching 8.45 trillion yuan （$1.2 trillion） in the fi rst 10 months， up 3.8 percent year on year.

Textile exports including masks jumped 34.8 percent year on year during the period， while auto exports slipped 6.7 percent.

Chinas foreign trade has emerged from the woes of the novel coronavirus disease in recent months thanks to government policies to stabilize the sector.

To mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on foreign trade fi rms， the country has introduced streamlined procedures at customs and incentives for cross-border e-commerce and other innovative trade forms.

In the latest effort to open its market and boost trade， China unveiled measures ranging from shortening the catalog of technologies prohibited or restricted from import to strengthening intellectual property protection at the Third China International Import Expo in Shanghai.

China will also set up 10 demonstration zones to promote imports， with innovative regulatory systems and fl exible trade models to be piloted at these zones.

As it implements a new dual circulation development pattern， where the domestic and foreign markets can boost each other， with the domestic market as the mainstay， foreign trade will continue to expand， according to Han Wenxiu， an official with the Office of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs.