Foreign-invested enterprises in China report 7.46 trillion yuan trade in first 7 months, up 2.6%; exports reach 4.1 trillion yuan, up 4.9%; imports hit 3.36 trillion yuan, down 0.1%

Foreign-invested enterprises in China report 7.46 trillion yuan trade in first 7 months, up 2.6%; exports reach 4.1 trillion yuan, up 4.9%; imports hit 3.36 trillion yuan, down 0.1%

Foreign-invested enterprises in China reported a trade volume of 7.46 trillion yuan in the first seven months of 2025, up by 2.6% year-over-year. Exports reached 4.1 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.9%, while imports hit 3.36 trillion yuan, a decrease of 0.1% [1].

In a related development, southbound capital flowing into the Hong Kong stock market hit an all-time high in the first seven months of 2025. The inflow reached HK$866.8 billion (US$110.4 billion) by July, according to data compiled by Wind. This amount is already 107% of last year’s total [1].

The surge in mainland buying is attributed to the revival of trading and fundraising activity in Hong Kong. The southbound trades via the Stock Connect programme accounted for 23.1% of total turnover on the Hong Kong stock exchange in the first six months of 2025, up from 18.3% in the same period last year [1].

Kenny Ng, a strategist at Everbright Securities International, commented that the inflow trend is likely to persist due to structural factors driving demand [1]. Meanwhile, the northbound channel saw a decrease in average daily turnover to 171.3 billion yuan (US$23.8 billion) in the first half of this year, with its share of total mainland market turnover dipping to 6.3% from 7.1% a year earlier [1].

Separately, the South Korean won appreciated to around 1,383 per dollar on Thursday, recovering from recent losses. This appreciation was supported by broad dollar weakness and strong domestic fundamentals. South Korea posted a record current account surplus of $14.27 billion in June, up from $10.14 billion in May. However, renewed trade policy uncertainty, including a proposed 100% tariff on imported semiconductors, tempered the recovery [2].

References:
[1] https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3320392/southbound-capital-flow-hong-kong-stocks-hits-record-first-7-months-2025
[2] https://www.tradingview.com/news/te_news:475871:0-sk-won-rises-amid-dollar-retreat-record-trade-surplus/