Published on: 2026-04-30
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian –
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In the first quarter, China’s foreign trade achieved rapid growth, which confirms the high resilience of the Chinese economy. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, the total volume of import and export of goods in China in the first quarter of this year amounted to 11.84 trillion yuan, an increase of 15% compared to the same period last year. This indicator updated the historical maximum for the first quarter, and the quarterly growth rates reached the highest level in the last five years: exports grew by 11.9%, imports — by 19.6%.
New drivers of exports continue to grow. In the first quarter, exports of engineering and electronic products increased by 18.3%, accounting for 63.4% of the total export volume. Exports of environmentally clean products, such as electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and wind turbine parts, grew by 77.5%, 50.4%, and 45.2% respectively, reflecting high global demand for intellectual and green products.
Trade partners are becoming more diverse. The volume of imports and exports with countries participating in the “Belt and Road” initiative grew by 14.2%, making up 51.2% of the total volume. Imports and exports with ASEAN countries and Latin America increased by 15.4%, and with Africa by 23.7%. The diversified market structure has strengthened the stability of foreign trade.
Expansion of domestic demand stimulates import growth. In March, the new orders index in the processing industry recovered to 51.6%, and the consumer goods market noticeably revived. Modernization of industry and the consumer basket together create a broad space for imports. In the first quarter, the import growth rate exceeded the export growth rate by 7.7 percentage points, and the import volume reached a record level for the first quarter.
China is not only a “world super factory” but also a “world super sink.” Despite many uncertain factors in the external environment, the foundation of China’s foreign trade remains solid; enterprises possess high activity, the export structure is constantly optimized, and import drivers are gaining strength. Customs service surveys confirm: the number of companies with increased new orders—both for exports and imports—has significantly risen.
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