How green trade is becoming the next engine of resilient growth for China in World Economy News 20/06/2026 As rising costs, trade barriers, technological competition and climate risks reshape global value chains, the ability to navigate uncertain regulatory territories and to grow sustainably is becoming a defining feature of economic competitiveness. At the same time, the global green economy has become a multi-trillion dollar growth engine. After surpassing $5 trillion in value in 2024, it is projected to exceed $7 trillion by 2030, making green trade one of the world’s top two growing industries after technology. This will create a wealth of new opportunities for sustainable trade and industrial transformation. In fact, the economics of sustainability-powered growth has already been proven. The World Economic Forum’s Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders represents $4 trillion in revenues and 12 million employees in 130+ companies. Between 2019 and 2023, its members reduced aggregate emissions by 12% while delivering revenue growth of 20%. In China, green trade reached $1.08 trillion in 2022, accounting for 12.2% of the global total. And under the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan (FYP), green trade is positioned to drive industrial upgrades, environmental governance and long-term competitiveness. By embedding sustainability across value chains and trade corridors, China is demonstrating how to align economic growth with broader climate and development goals. How does China trade in critical sectors? China is the world’s largest soybean importer, hitting a record high of 111.83 million metric tons imported in 2025, up 6.5% from a year before. Meanwhile, its 15th FYP’s agricultural plan calls for “diversifying agricultural imports and better aligning trade with domestic production”, as well as managing the environmental footprint of imported goods. In line with this, China’s largest food company, COFCO International and Modern Farming Group, signed an agreement in 2023 with