China's annual foreign trade value topped 40 trillion yuan (about 5.94 trillion U.S. dollars) for the first time in 2022, as the country works to better coordinate epidemic response with economic and social development amid complex and severe domestic and international situations, official data showed Friday.

Graphic: People's Daily app

Total goods trade reached a record 42.07 trillion yuan, up 7.7 percent year on year, topping the world for six consecutive years, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

Exports rose 10.5 percent to 23.97 trillion yuan, and imports went up 4.3 percent to 18.1 trillion yuan.

China's foreign trade delivered breakthroughs in scale, quality, and efficiency last year, which is a hard-won feat considering headwinds in demand, supply, and expectations, GAC spokesperson Lyu Daliang said.

In 2022, China rolled out policies dynamically to bolster growth, including that of foreign trade.

The package of policies and their follow-up measures to shore up economic recovery have paid off, unleashing the vitality of trade entities, said Lyu. Specifically, authorities have sought to ramp up financial and fiscal support to foreign trade firms, increase export tax rebates, explore new markets, stabilize industry chains, and smooth logistics.

Thanks to these efforts, foreign trade by private firms jumped 12.9 percent to account for 50.9 percent of the total, crossing the 50 percent mark for the first time, GAC data showed.

China's vast export market and competitive edge in manufacturing also contributed to the trade growth, said Lyu. The country takes up 14.7 percent of the global export market, leading the world for 14 consecutive years, Friday's data showed.

The country's imports and exports with ASEAN, the European Union, and the United States gained 15 percent, 5.6 percent, and 3.7 percent, respectively. Trade with Belt and Road countries climbed 19.4 percent to account for 32.9 percent of its total foreign trade, while trade with other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership rose 7.5 percent.

New drivers are taking hold, as China saw over 60 percent export hikes in green products, including solar batteries, lithium-ion batteries, and electric vehicles, Lyu said.

Import as a whole was underpinned by steady overall growth, Lyu said. In the January-November period, China recorded expansion in fixed-asset investment, industrial output, and online retail sales, among others, official data showed.

(With input from Xinhua)