Despite the increase in external challenges, in the first quarter of this year, China's foreign trade still handed over a steady and progressive report card, with the import and export of goods trade reaching 10.3 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.3%. Among them, exports were 6.13 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.9%. On a monthly basis, the growth rate of imports and exports rebounded month by month, with imports and exports falling by 2.2% in January, basically flat in February, and 6% in March.

Behind this series of data, the performance of private enterprises is eye-catching. In the first quarter, the import and export of China's private enterprises was 5.85 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.8%, accounting for 56.8% of China's total import and export value, an increase of 2.4 percentage points over the same period last year. Judging from the data, private enterprises have supported half of China's foreign trade.

"Quantity" and "quality" are improved simultaneously

In this wrestling field of global foreign trade, China's private enterprises can be called "all-round warriors", not only the scale has grown, but also technological innovation has shined in the world.

According to the data of the General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter of this year, the number of enterprises with import and export performance in China reached 529,000, an increase of 33,000 year-on-year. Among them, private enterprises hit a record high of 455,000 in the same period, accounting for 86.1% of the total number of enterprises with import and export performance in the same period.

It is worth noting that the tentacles of private enterprises extend to almost all parts of the world. In the first quarter, the import and export of private enterprises to nearly 180 countries and regions around the world increased. Among the traditional markets, imports and exports to the EU increased by 7.1% and to Japan by 4.8%. In emerging markets, private enterprises have also accelerated, with import and export growth rates of 7.4%, 9.6% and 5.2% respectively to ASEAN, Africa and Latin America.

The scale has gone up, how to break the quality game? The answer given by private enterprises is innovation. Wang Lingjun, deputy director of the General Administration of Customs, said at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office that in the first quarter of this year, the scale of import and export of high-tech products by China's private enterprises was close to 1 trillion yuan, which not only hit a record high, but also maintained its position as the largest import and export entity. Specifically, in the first quarter, the export of many high-tech products achieved double-digit growth. Among them, the export of high-end machine tools increased by 16.4%, and the growth rate of industrial robots reached 67.4%.

Behind these figures is the transformation of private enterprises from "technology followers" to "innovation competitors". Zhang Jingan, former member of the party group and secretary general of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said to "Every Economic Headline": "Private enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises have contributed most of the technological innovation and are the main force of technological innovation in China. "Take Unitree Technology, the head enterprise of the embodied intelligent track, as an example, Unitree Technology was established less than 10 years ago, but it has been out of the circle in the world with leading technology, and most importantly, Unitree Technology has won real money orders in the world. According to "Phoenix Satellite TV", Unitree's robot dog products account for more than 60% of global shipments, and there are many technology giants such as Amazon and Google among customers.

Policies escort and support the high-quality development of the private economy

Looking back on the development trajectory of these private enterprises, it is not difficult to find that when they are charging in the international market, national policies have always been escorting.

In October last year, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and the National Development and Reform Commission took the lead in establishing the "Coordination Working Mechanism for Supporting the Financing of Small and Micro Enterprises" to solve the problem of difficult and expensive financing for small and micro enterprises in China, and remarkable results have been achieved.

On April 2, Jiang Ping, director of the Department of Inclusive Finance of the State Administration of Financial Regulation, said at the press conference of the State Council Information Office that as of the end of February 2025, the balance of inclusive small and micro enterprise loans nationwide was 33.9 trillion yuan. Among them, the balance of credit loans was 9.4 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25.8%. At the same time, the cost of financing for small and micro enterprises is also decreasing. In the first two months of 2025, the average interest rate of new inclusive small and micro enterprise loans issued nationwide was 4.03%, a decrease of 0.33% compared with 2024.

On February 28, 2025, the People's Bank of China, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, the State Administration of Financial Regulation, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange jointly held a forum on financial support for the high-quality development of private enterprises. The meeting required that the high-quality development of private enterprises should be promoted through the implementation of moderately loose monetary policy, the implementation of 25 measures for financial support for the private economy, and the strengthening of bond market system construction and product innovation.

From February 24th to February 25th, at the 14th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress, the long-awaited private enterprises conducted the second review of China's first basic law dedicated to the development of the private economy - the "Private Economy Promotion Law (Draft)", which means that the legislative process has entered the sprint stage.

From the perspective of content, the draft law on the promotion of private economy provides solutions to the main pain points, blockages and difficulties that affect and restrict the development of private enterprises. Today, when the importance of private enterprises is becoming increasingly prominent, the introduction of the bill will further release the potential and vitality of private enterprises.

During the two sessions this year, the private economy is also one of the topics that attracted the most attention. At the meeting, 50 representatives of entrepreneurs from science and technology, manufacturing, energy and other industries made suggestions and suggestions for the high-quality development of private enterprises, including promoting consumption, anti-involution competition, protecting intellectual property rights, and cultivating talents.

Source: Canned Gallery

The world is like a new chess game, where the country is building a protective wall for the development of private enterprises, and the United States is raising the stick of tariffs. However, in the face of the indiscriminate tariffs imposed by the United States, many private enterprises have expressed their means and confidence. Trina Solar (688599. SH), Zhongji Ningbo, Lingyi Intelligent Manufacturing (002600. SZ), Didi Chuxing (DIDIY.US), Goertek (002241. At the symposium held by the National Development and Reform Commission, the five companies said, "The United States has been prepared for tariffs and is actively taking countermeasures, while the domestic development environment is stable and the market space is broad, and the company is confident to overcome difficulties, make breakthroughs and achieve better development under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee." ”

Yang Delong, chief economist and fund manager of Qianhai Open Source Fund, is also full of confidence in this, he said, "At present, we are in the midst of great changes unseen in a century, and it is also a great opportunity unseen in a century. The CPC Central Committee has taken a firm stand and taken resolute measures, and the people of the whole country resolutely support the decision of the CPC Central Committee. I believe that in the end, we will win the tariff war, protect the legitimate rights and interests of export enterprises, and ensure the return to normalization of the global economic order. ”

The dazzling data in the first quarter is not only a report card for private enterprises to dare to fight, but also a microcosm of China's economic resilience. Although U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally provoked a tariff war, which had a major impact on the global trade order and caused global trade to be hit hard, the real strong man has never been afraid of the storm.

In the future, with the continuous release of policy dividends, the development prospects of China's private enterprises are promising, both quantity and quality will rise, and China's foreign trade will continue to develop and innovate, overcome difficulties and forge ahead, and develop steadily.

This article is from the WeChat public account "Bronco Finance", author: Bronco Finance, 36 Krypton is authorized to publish.