Published on: 2026-08-07
Source: People’s Republic of China — Translation
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Beijing, August 7 /Xinhua/ — Since the beginning of this year, the range of Chinese exports has expanded. Following the previously known “new trio” in China’s foreign trade, which includes electric vehicles, photovoltaic cells, and lithium batteries, a “second new trio” has emerged.
The categories of goods from the “second new trio”, namely robots, products related to artificial intelligence (AI), and innovative pharmaceuticals, are becoming new driving forces of growth in Chinese exports as the country expands its activities in higher value-added, innovation-based industries.
In July, China’s exports grew by 17.8 percent compared to the same period last year, with high-tech products, including industrial robots and 3D printers, accounting for almost 60 percent of the total export growth, according to data released on Friday by the General Administration of Customs (GAC).
Last month, industrial robot exports grew by 13.2 percent and amounted to 7.34 billion yuan /about 1.1 billion USD/. This trend has been gaining momentum since 2025, when China became a net exporter of industrial robots for the first time.
In addition to industrial robots, domestic and humanoid robots produced in China are also widely used in manufacturing and everyday life around the world.
According to official data, in the first half of this year, the export of surgical robots increased 4.3 times compared to the same period last year, reaching 480 million yuan, while the export of cleaning robots and intelligent bionic robots, including humanoid robots, robotic dogs, and biomimetic fish and birds, reached 18.09 billion yuan.
AI-related exports also gained momentum. From January to June, exports of electronic components and computer parts showed double-digit growth, collectively contributing 6.9 percentage points to the country’s overall export growth.
In addition to industrial goods, technology exports from China now also extend to digital services – companies are increasingly supplying artificial intelligence algorithms, cloud computing, and digital solutions to foreign markets. OpenRouter – a global platform uniting large language models – reported that all six of the most in-demand models on its platform in July were open-source models developed in China.
This trend is also noticeable in the pharmaceutical industry, where Chinese companies are increasingly bringing their innovations to the global market through licensing agreements for new drugs.
In the first half of the year, Chinese companies signed 81 licensing agreements for innovative pharmaceutical drugs abroad with partners from 20 countries and regions, including the USA, the UK, France, and Italy. The total amount of deals reached 80 percent of the annual figure projected for 2025.
According to the State Drug Control Administration, China currently accounts for about 30 percent of all new drugs under development, allowing the country to rank second in the world in this indicator. -0-
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