According to data released by the General Administration of Customs on the 14th, China’s merchandise trade imports and exports amounted to 25.47 trillion yuan in the first half of 2026. This surpassed the 25 trillion yuan mark for the same period in history, marking a year-on-year increase of 16.9%. China thus maintained its position as the world’s leading country in terms of merchandise trade.
“The growth has been robust and the trend has been steady.” Wang Jun, Deputy Director-General of the General Administration of Customs, stated at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on the same day. Overall, China’s foreign trade maintained a favorable operational trend in the first half of the year, with significant achievements in stabilizing the scale and optimizing the structure.
Focus on new and superior exports. In the first half of the year, China’s exports amounted to 14.73 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 13.4%. This marks 11 consecutive quarters of growth. Of these, exports of machinery and electrical products totaled 9.36 trillion yuan, representing a 20.1% increase and accounting for 63.5% of the total export value, an increase of 3.5 percentage points compared to the same period last year. During the same period, exports of high-tech products and branded products grew by 39% and 25.4%, respectively.
“Many friends are following the World Cup, and they may notice that there are many Chinese products on the field,” said Lü Daliang, Director of the Statistics and Analysis Department of the General Administration of Customs. In recent years, China has consistently been the world’s largest exporter of sporting goods, accounting for over 40% of global exports. In the first half of the year, China’s exports of sporting goods and equipment amounted to 67.53 billion yuan, with ball-related exports totaling 3.08 billion yuan.
Import performance was particularly strong. In the first half of the year, China’s imports amounted to 10.74 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 22.1%. This growth rate was 8.7 percentage points higher than that of exports, and its contribution to the growth of foreign trade was greater than that of exports. This has promoted balanced trade development.
The growth of business entities has been strong. In the first half of the year, private enterprises’ import and export amounted to 14.53 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 17% and accounting for nearly 60% of the total value of foreign trade. During the same period, the import and export of foreign-invested enterprises grew by 17.1%, marking nine consecutive quarters of growth. The import and export of state-owned enterprises increased by 16.8%.
Each region in the country has showcased its unique strengths. In the first half of the year, the import and export volume of China’s eastern regions exceeded 20 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 16.5% and accounting for 78.8% of the total value of foreign trade. The western, central, and northeastern regions experienced growth rates of 20.3%, 20%, and 8.6%, respectively.
The diversified market continues to solidify. In the first half of the year, China’s imports and exports to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative amounted to 12.97 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 14.8% and accounting for 50.9% of the total value of foreign trade. Exports to Latin America, Africa, and the European Union increased by 16.2%, 19.6%, and 10.2%, respectively.
Wang Jun stated that while we have achieved impressive results in the first half of the year, we must also acknowledge that China’s foreign trade will continue to face certain challenges in the second half. However, due to our robust innovation drive, strong corporate vitality, and high level of openness, the foundation of our foreign trade remains solid. We are confident and capable of maintaining the positive momentum of foreign trade development. (Outlook New Era)
Edit：Zeng Mengqi Responsible editor：Li Yi
Source：people.cn
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