In the first half of 2026, China's foreign trade showed strong growth and a stable trend

Beijing, July 14 (Xinhua) -- According to data released by the General Administration of Customs on the 14th, China's import and export of goods in the first half of 2026 reached 25.47 trillion yuan, surpassing 25 trillion yuan for the first time in history, a year-on-year increase of 16.9%, and firmly maintaining its position as the world's largest country in goods trade.

The growth momentum is strong and the trend is stable, "said Wang Jun, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Customs, at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on the same day. Overall, China's foreign trade maintained a good operating trend in the first half of the year, with significant results in stabilizing scale and optimizing structure.

Export towards new and better directions. In the first half of the year, China's exports reached 1.473 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.4%, and have maintained growth for 11 consecutive quarters. Among them, the export of electromechanical products reached 9.36 trillion yuan, an increase of 20.1%, 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 domestic brands increased by 39% and 25.4% respectively.

Many friends are paying attention to the World Cup and may find many Chinese products on the field, "said Lv Daliang, Director of the Statistics and Analysis Department of the General Administration of Customs. In recent years, China has always been the world's largest exporter of sports goods, accounting for over 40% of global exports. In the first half of the year, China's exports of sports goods and equipment amounted to 67.53 billion yuan, of which 3.08 billion yuan was for ball exports.

The import performance is outstanding. In the first half of the year, China imported 10.74 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.1%, with a growth rate 8.7 percentage points higher than exports. Its contribution to foreign trade growth was also greater than exports, promoting balanced trade development.

The growth momentum of the operating entities is good. In the first half of the year, the import and export of private enterprises reached 14.53 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17%, accounting for nearly 60% of the total foreign trade value. During the same period, the import and export of foreign-funded enterprises increased by 17.1%, achieving growth for 9 consecutive quarters, while the import and export of state-owned enterprises increased by 16.8%.

Each region has its own strengths in development. In the first half of the year, the import and export scale of the eastern region of China exceeded 20 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.5%, accounting for 78.8% of the total foreign trade value. The western, central, and northeastern regions increased by 20.3%, 20%, and 8.6% respectively.

The diversified market continues to consolidate. In the first half of the year, China's import and export to countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" totaled 12.97 trillion yuan, up 14.8% year on year, accounting for 50.9% of the total foreign trade value; Imports and exports to Latin America, Africa, and the European Union increased by 16.2%, 19.6%, and 10.2% respectively.

Wang Jun stated that while impressive results were achieved in the first half of the year, it should also be noted that China's foreign trade still faces certain pressures in the second half of the year. However, China has strong innovation momentum, strong vitality, and a high level of openness. The foundation of foreign trade is still stable, and we have confidence and ability to maintain the good momentum of foreign trade development.