(Multimedia) LEAD China's foreign trade up 18.3 pct in first two months of 2026
BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign trade got off to a robust start to the year, with double-digit growth in the total value of merchandise trade, which jumped 18.3 percent year-on-year in the January-February period, according to the latest official data.
According to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Tuesday, the total value of merchandise trade reached 7.73 trillion yuan (about 1.12 trillion U.S. dollars) during the period.
Exports rose 19.2 percent year-on-year to 4.62 trillion yuan, while imports rose 17.1 percent to 3.11 trillion yuan, the data showed.
In the first two months of 2026, China's exports of high-tech and high value-added mechanical and electrical products recorded a year-on-year growth of 24.3%.
At the same time, strong consumption encouraged by the extended Spring Festival holiday boosted demand for imports. In the first two months, China's imports of mechanical and electrical products, iron ore and crude oil all showed double-digit growth.
RESILIENT TRADE GROWTH
China's foreign trade continued to show resilience and strength in 2026, after growing 3.8% year-on-year in 2025.
Analysts observed that since the beginning of the year, different Chinese regions and departments have made proactive efforts to support foreign trade, while a large number of foreign trade enterprises have strived to obtain orders and explore markets.
Huang Qunhui, a researcher at the Institute of Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the good start has laid a solid foundation for China's foreign trade prospects in 2026.
Huang pointed out that the transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry, coupled with the expansion of domestic demand to strengthen imports, has given new 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 that China's foreign trade has largely maintained the momentum and characteristics seen in 2025.
However, he said the external environment facing foreign trade remained "complex and challenging" and there was pressure to ensure stable trade growth. "The escalation of recent geopolitical conflicts has impacted the international economic order and global industrial and supply chains, making the situation even more volatile and uncertain," Wang said.
DIVERSIFIED BUSINESS PARTNERS
Broken down by region and country, the data showed that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remained China's largest trading partner, with the value of China-ASEAN trade exceeding 1.24 trillion yuan in the first two months of 2026, up 20.3 percent year-on-year.
This was followed by 998.94 billion yuan in trade in goods between the European Union and China during the same period, an increase of 19.9 percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, China's trade with Latin America and Africa rose 19.7 percent and 34.2 percent year-on-year, respectively, the data showed.
Trade between China and the United States amounted to 609.71 billion yuan during the period, down 16.9 percent from the previous year, according to the released data.
Data from the General Administration of Customs also showed that trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 4.02 trillion yuan in the first two months of 2026, a growth of 20 percent from the previous year.
At the same press conference, the commerce minister said China will promote balanced trade growth this year by stabilizing exports while more sharing opportunities in its domestic market. He pledged to increase imports of agricultural products, high-end consumer goods, advanced equipment and key components.
He also said that China will accelerate the development of digital trade and green trade, and encourage the export of artificial intelligence products, green energy equipment and other products, so as to foster new drivers of foreign trade.
