China: Imports of goods and services (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, China's imports of goods and services (current LCU) rose 0.3% on 2024 (from 23.61 trillion to 23.67 trillion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +12.4% and a typical year strayed about 12.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 101.4% in 1978 and the biggest yearly fall was 25.5% in 1961. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.21 trillion a year. A straight line explains 95% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 27.44 trillion for 2028. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2023 to 2025 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 1.49 trillion, against 1.91 trillion for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2025, China had the 22nd highest value of the 137 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to China in the 2025 ranking

• Tanzania — 18th of 137: 45.78 trillion
• Russian Federation — 19th of 137: 33.23 trillion
• Madagascar — 20th of 137: 29.25 trillion
• Pakistan — 22nd of 137: 19.58 trillion
• Costa Rica — 23rd of 137: 16.91 trillion
• Türkiye — 24th of 137: 15.81 trillion

What this measures

Imports of goods includes change in the economic ownership of goods from non-residents to residents of the compiling economy, irrespective of physical movement of goods across national borders. Imports of services includes services provided by non-residents to residents. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.

All 66 values

Imports of goods and services (current LCU) in nearby economies

• American Samoa — 677 million (2022)
• Australia — 629.62 billion (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 10.23 billion (2025)
• Cambodia — 138.77 trillion (2025)
• Fiji — 8.74 billion (2024)
• French Polynesia — 321.9 billion (2024)
• Guam — 4.42 billion (2022)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 6.56 trillion (2025)
• Indonesia — 4,893.96 trillion (2025)
• Japan

More economic policy & debt data for China

• Exports of goods and services (current US$) — US$4.11 trillion (2025)
• Exports of goods and services (current LCU) — 29.54 trillion (2025)
• Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) — 21.07% (2025)
• Imports of goods and services (current US$) — US$3.29 trillion (2025)
• Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) — 16.89% (2025)
• External balance on goods and services (current US$) — US$816.19 billion (2025)
• External balance on goods and services (current LCU) — 5.87 trillion (2025)
• External balance on goods and services (% of GDP) — 4.19% (2025)
• Trade (% of GDP) — 37.96% (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is China's imports of goods and services (current LCU)?

23.67 trillion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 508,486% from 4.65 billion in 1960 (14.03% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 23.67 trillion in 2025 and the lowest 2.78 billion in 1962.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.IMP.GNFS.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs); National Accounts data files, Central Banks; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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