Economic Watch: China's foreign trade records strong start to 2026 with double-digit growth

BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign trade has posted a robust start to the year, with the total value of trade in goods recording double-digit growth, surging 18.3 percent year on year in the January-February period, latest official data showed.

Data released Tuesday by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) revealed that total goods trade value had reached 7.73 trillion yuan (about 1.12 trillion U.S. dollars) during this period.

Exports rose 19.2 percent from the same period last year to total 4.62 trillion yuan, while imports went up 17.1 percent to reach 3.11 trillion yuan, according to the data.

In the first two months of 2026, China's exports of high-tech and high value-added mechanical and electrical products posted a year-on-year increase of 24.3 percent.

Meanwhile, strong consumer spending spurred by the extended Spring Festival holiday boosted import demand. During the first two months, China's imports of mechanical and electrical products, iron ore and crude oil all posted double-digit growth.

RESILIENT TRADE GROWTH

China's foreign trade has continued to demonstrate resilience and vigor in 2026, after the nation's foreign trade had expanded by 3.8 percent year on year in 2025.

Analysts observed that since the start of this year, different Chinese regions and departments have made proactive efforts in seeking to bolster foreign trade, while a large number of foreign trade companies have endeavored to secure orders and explore markets.

Huang Qunhui, a researcher at the Institute of Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that this strong start has laid a solid foundation for China's 2026 foreign trade prospects.

Huang noted that the transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry and the expansion of domestic demand to strengthen imports, have combined to deliver added fresh impetus to the high-quality development of foreign trade.

At a press conference held last week on the sidelines of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao said China's foreign trade has largely maintained the momentum and characteristics seen in 2025.

However, he said that the external environment facing foreign trade remains "complex and severe" and that there was pressure to ensure stable trade growth. "Recent escalating geopolitical conflicts have impacted the international economic order and global industrial and supply chains, making the situation even more volatile and uncertain," Wang explained.

DIVERSIFIED TRADING PARTNERS

Broken down by region and country, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remained China's largest trading partner, with China-ASEAN trade value hitting more than 1.24 trillion yuan in the first two months of 2026, up 20.3 percent year on year.

This was followed by the European Union's 998.94 billion yuan in goods trade with China during the same period, an increase of 19.9 percent year on year. Meanwhile, China's trade with Latin America and Africa grew 19.7 percent and 34.2 percent year on year, respectively, the data showed.

China's trade with the United States stood at 609.71 billion yuan during this period, down 16.9 percent year on year, the data revealed.

The GAC data also showed that trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative had reached 4.02 trillion yuan during the first two months of 2026, with year-on-year growth of 20 percent.

During the same press conference, the commerce minister said China will promote balanced trade growth this year by stabilizing exports while sharing more opportunities in its domestic market. He pledged increased imports of agricultural products, premium consumer goods, advanced equipment and key components.

He also said that China will accelerate the development of digital trade and green trade, and promote the export of artificial intelligence products, green power equipment and other products, as it seeks to foster new drivers of foreign trade. ■