China rises to world's largest goods trade country in 70 years

BEIJING -- China's goods trade has posted robust growth in the past seven decades thanks to the country's reform and opening-up efforts.

Goods trade volume stood at only $1.13 billion in 1950, while the number surged to $4.6 trillion in 2018, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday in a report.

Average annual trade growth remained less than 10 percent from 1950 to 1977 under the planned economy, but quickened to about 14.5 percent after China started the reform and opening-up drive in 1978.

The country's goods trade only accounted for 0.8 percent of the global total in 1978, while the number soared to 11.8 percent in 2018.

China overtook the United States to become the world's largest goods trade country in 2013 for the first time.

The country has also seen fast inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), keeping the crown of the developing economy with the biggest FDI inflow for 27 straight years, the report showed.