According to General Administration of Customs data on May 9, China’s steel exports/imports, iron ore and coal imports in April 2026 and Jan-Apr 2026 had respective month-on-month and year-on-year changes.

On May 9, 2026, China's General Administration of Customs released that in the first four months of 2026, total goods trade import-export was RMB16.23 trillion (up 14.9% YoY). The growth reflects stable, dynamic foreign trade, supported by industrial supply chain resilience, expanded FTA network, diverse business entities, and optimized trade structure.

CCTV news reports that National Information Center's May 10 indicators show China's multiple economic fields maintained positive trends since April under macro policies, including optimized investment structure (175.2% year-on-year growth in AI/humanoid robots investment), accelerated enterprise innovation, and growing consumer market.

In Jan-Apr 2026, China's goods trade totaled RMB16.23trln (14.9% YoY growth). Exports rose 11.3% to 9.33trln, imports up 20% to 6.9trln. Details cover trade methods, partners, entities, key commodities.

As Mother's Day approaches, Yunnan Customs supervises fresh cut flower exports (roses, etc.) with remote inspection to speed up processes. In Jan-Apr, Yunnan exported over 800 million yuan worth of fresh cut flowers to 37 countries, ensuring quality and timely delivery.

On May 5th, Yantai Port dispatched domestic construction vehicles to Guinea via China-Africa liner. As a major China-Africa trade port, it has over 20 African routes transporting 200+ goods categories. Yantai Customs innovated supervision to boost efficiency, helping enterprises like Yantai Xingye Machinery double exports since 2026.

China's first quarter 2026 outward direct investment hit 309.45b yuan (+5.4%), non-financial investment in 140 countries/regions was 232.86b yuan, Belt and Road investment reached 61.27b yuan, foreign contracted engineering turnover was 259.35b yuan (+5.7%), and 96k laborers were dispatched overseas.

On May 1, 2026, China implemented zero tariffs on African countries with diplomatic relations. Shenzhen Bay Customs cleared the first 24-ton fresh South African apples shipment, cutting import costs. Shenzhen Customs supported smooth implementation, benefiting enterprises and boosting China-Africa trade.

Against global climate governance and trade rule changes, China's green trade faces bottlenecks (inconsistent carbon standards, insufficient financial/tax support, poor institutional connection). Solutions involve building standard systems, innovating financial/tax policies, and strengthening institutional collaboration to advance green trade.

Yanshi District (Henan, China) exports textile shoes, three-wheeled motorcycles, and knitted goods to Central Asia, Africa etc., driven by complete industrial clusters, competitive quality-price ratio, and flexible production, with growing overseas sales (e.g., tricycles 35% growth).

The Mercosur-EU Free Trade Agreement temporarily took effect on May 1, 2026, after 25 years of negotiations. Covering 720 million people and $22 trillion GDP, it cancels some tariffs, aims for trade diversification/strategic autonomy from the US, and boosts growth/employment—though facing EU internal opposition and ECJ review.

The 139th Canton Fair closed on May 5, attracting 314,000 overseas buyers from 220 countries. It reflects China's opportunities, strong industrial supply chains, enterprises' innovation, and high-level opening up, showing resilience of China's foreign trade and economy.

In 2026, Fuzhou Port Jiangyin Area's vehicle exports exceeded 20k (surpassing last year's total) as of April 30. The port is a key southeast export hub with efficient RO-RO operations; Fujian's auto exports grew 26.1% YoY in Q1, supported by customs measures and market-adapted models (e.g., Chery Jetour for Middle East).

Yiwu goods increasingly export via Ningbo Port through the Yiwu-Ningbo Zhoushan Grand Passage, with customs innovations (inspection before shipment, intelligent tracking) boosting efficiency. Yiwu’s Q1 2026 exports reached 178.61b yuan (+21.3% YoY), 60% via Ningbo, while sea-rail intermodal shipments rose 115.6% YoY to 76k TEUs.

In Q1 2026, Ningbo's import/export with Central and Eastern European countries reached 14.5b yuan (up 8% QoQ). Ningbo Customs used measures like early declaration, tariff preferences and digital services to boost cooperation, with examples like Serbia FTA certificates and growing agricultural imports.

Hebei's Q1 2026 import/export hit a historical high of 184.9B yuan (35.8% YoY growth) per Shijiazhuang Customs. It featured diversified trade modes, expanded opening-up (Belt and Road, emerging markets), new export momentum (mechanical, high-tech products), and diversified resource imports.

In Q1, Harbin area of Heilongjiang FTZ recorded 5.43B yuan imports/exports (up 94.9%). General trade dominated (95.6%), private enterprises (88% of entities) contributed 93.7%. Bingcheng Customs took measures to drive growth.

On May 2, China’s Ministry of Commerce issued a ban under the Blocking Measures, prohibiting compliance with US sanctions on 5 Chinese private petrochemical firms (including Hengli) over Iranian oil transactions. This defends enterprises’ legitimate rights, opposes US unilateral sanctions, and supports global energy supply chain stability.

On May 2, 2026, China's Ministry of Commerce issued a ban not recognizing, enforcing or complying with US sanctions against five Chinese petrochemical companies (included in SDN List for alleged Iranian oil transactions) to safeguard national interests and oppose US unilateral sanctions lacking international legal basis.

The 139th Canton Fair concluded on May 5 in Guangzhou, presenting three new trends (new zones, new products, new markets) that reflect China's foreign trade structural progress. New purchasers are mainly from Belt and Road countries, with Latin America and Africa seeing rapid growth.