Global Trade Hits Record $35 Trillion as UN Warns of Rising Barriers for Developing Countries
World trade reached a record $35 trillion in 2025, but developing countries are being held back from fuller participation in the global economy by new technological and policy barriers, the UN trade and development agency UNCTAD said on October 9. Investment is moving into strategic sectors such as semiconductors, super intelligence, clean energy and advanced computing, where entry barriers are high and rising.
UNCTAD pointed to export controls, investment screening and supply-chain preconditions as reasons strategic sectors are harder for developing countries to access. Trade between China and the United States has fallen by more than 20 percent since 2024, while East Asian economies have expanded links with both China and North America. The agency expects Asia to contribute about 60 percent of global growth this year and called for long-term support for domestic industries, training, research and foreign investment tied to local suppliers in developing countries.
(Source: UNCTAD)
Source: UNCTAD
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：迈阿密港集装箱码头航拍（资料图）。摄影：James R. Tourtellotte，公有领域，来源：Wikimedia Commons
