In the first half of 2026, Guangdong's foreign trade exceeded 5 trillion yuan for the first time and reached a new high

On the 17th, the Guangdong Branch of the General Administration of Customs released data showing that Guangdong's foreign trade imports and exports in the first half of the year reached 5.49 trillion yuan, breaking through the 5 trillion yuan mark for the first time in history, with a year-on-year increase of 20.8% and a new high in scale. Guangdong's foreign trade accounts for 21.6% of the country's total, with a trade increment of 944.71 billion yuan and a contribution rate of 25.6% to the country's foreign trade growth. Its share, increment, and contribution all rank first in the country.

In the first half of the year, Guangdong's foreign trade imports and exports showed strong growth and abundant momentum. Among them, exports amounted to 3.22 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.6%; Imports amounted to 2.27 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 36.8%. The monthly scale has repeatedly reached new highs. In January, the scale of Guangdong's foreign trade exceeded 900 billion yuan for the first time, and in April, May, and June, it refreshed the monthly foreign trade data for three consecutive months. In June alone, Guangdong's imports and exports reached 1.05 trillion yuan, with the monthly scale breaking through the trillion yuan mark for the first time in history, a year-on-year increase of 30.3%.

In the first half of the year, Guangdong's imports and exports to emerging markets such as ASEAN and Latin America increased by 13.3% and 4.5% respectively year-on-year; Traditional markets such as Hong Kong, the European Union, the United States, and South Korea all achieved year-on-year growth. The dividend of fully implementing "zero tariffs" on 53 African countries with diplomatic relations has been released, and the scale of Guangdong Africa trade has reached a record high of 178.44 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 23.3%.

Guangdong's export products are moving towards novelty and greenness. In the first half of the year, Guangdong exported 2.27 trillion yuan worth of electromechanical products, a year-on-year increase of 16%, accounting for over 70% of the province's total export value. High end manufacturing has demonstrated strong international competitiveness, with exports of drones, high-end machine tools, industrial robots, and other products all achieving year-on-year growth. The export of green and low-carbon products is impressive, with exports of lithium batteries and electric vehicles increasing by 42.7% and 35.3% year-on-year, respectively.

Since March, Guangdong's imports have maintained a growth rate of over 30% for four consecutive months, with a year-on-year increase of 59.1% in June alone, setting the fastest growth rate in nearly 10 years. The expansion of demand for new industries and formats has driven a relatively rapid growth in imports of computer components, integrated circuits, aircraft components, and other products.

Import and export business entities are more active. In the first half of the year, Guangdong had 174000 enterprises with import and export performance, an increase of 44000 compared to the same period last year. Among them, there are 153000 private enterprises with an import and export volume of 369 trillion yuan, accounting for an increase of 3.2 percentage points to 67.2% in the province. The import and export of foreign-funded enterprises reached 1.62 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.5%, maintaining positive year-on-year growth for 10 consecutive quarters.