China's foreign trade expanded 5.2 percent year-on-year to 36.02 trillion yuan ($5.02 trillion) in the January-October period of 2024, statistics from the General Administration of Customs showed on Thursday.

Exports rose 6.7 percent yearly to 20.8 trillion yuan, while imports climbed 3.2 percent year-on-year to 15.22 trillion yuan during this period, customs data showed.

China's exports of electro-mechanical products grew by 8.5 percent year-on-year to 12.36 trillion yuan between January and October, accounting for 59.4 percent of its total exports.

The import and export value of China's private companies reached 19.85 trillion yuan in the first ten months, an increase of 9.3 percent year-on-year, accounting for 55.1 percent of the country's total foreign trade value, according to the administration.

In the meantime, foreign-invested businesses recorded a foreign trade value of 10.61 trillion yuan, up 1.3 percent on a yearly basis, accounting for 29.5 percent of the nation's total.