BEIJING  -  China’s total import and export of goods expanded 5 percent year on year in yuan terms in the first quarter of 2024, setting new records in both scale and growth rate, of­ficial data showed Friday. From January to March, the country’s foreign trade in goods stood at 10.17 tril­lion yuan (about 1.43 tril­lion U.S. dollars), according to the General Administra­tion of Customs (GAC). Ex­ports from the world’s sec­ond-biggest economy were 4.9 percent higher year on year to reach 5.74 trillion yuan, while imports rose 5 percent to 4.43 trillion yuan, the data showed. His­torically, for the first time, the country’s foreign trade scale has exceeded 10 tril­lion yuan during the same period, while the growth rate has hit a six-quarter high, GAC deputy head Wang Lingjun told a press conference.