China’s foreign trade grew by 2.1 percent year-on-year to 20.1 trillion yuan ($2.8 trillion) in the first half of 2023, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Thursday.China’s exports rose 3.7 percent on a yearly basis to 11.46 trillion yuan between January and June, while its imports dropped 0.1 percent year-on-year to 8.64 trillion yuan, the administration added.In the meantime, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained China’s largest trading partner. Their total imports and exports expanded 5.4 percent year-on-year to 3.08 trillion yuan, accounting for 15.3 percent of China’s total foreign trade volume.China’s saw its exports of electro-mechanical products increase by 6.3 percent on a yearly basis to 6.66 trillion yuan in the first half, taking up 58.2 percent of its exports, about 1.4 percentage points higher year-on-year.