Published on: 2026-10-15
Source: People’s Republic of China — Translation
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Beijing, October 14 /Xinhua/ — China’s foreign trade maintained steady momentum in the first three quarters of 2026 — both exports and imports grew rapidly, with overall growth rates reaching the highest level for the same period in the past five years. This is evidenced by official data released by the General Administration of Customs /GAC/ of China on Wednesday.
In January-September, the total volume of the country’s imports and exports increased by 18.8% year-on-year to 39.94 trillion yuan /approximately 5.94 trillion US dollars/, the General Administration of Customs reported.
According to the data, during the specified period, the quarterly growth rates of foreign trade turnover consistently increased – in the first quarter this figure was 15.3%, in the second – 18.3%, and in the third it reached 22.3%.
Growth in foreign trade for the first three quarters became the fastest for the same period in the past five years, with quarterly and monthly growth rates generally accelerating, noted Deputy Head of the GTU Wan Jun.
“According to the latest international data, such growth rates place our country among the top positions among major economies, while China remains the world leader in goods trade,” the official said at a press conference on Wednesday.
According to the customs data, the export volume from China increased by 16.4% to 23.2 trillion yuan, and the import volume increased by 22.3% to 16.74 trillion yuan for the period from January to September.
In particular, in September, the total volume of imports and exports exceeded the 5 trillion yuan mark for the first time, increasing by 27.5 percent year-on-year to 5.16 trillion yuan. Taking into account the September figure, it can be said that double-digit monthly growth has continued for six consecutive months.
During the first three quarters of this year, the country’s trade volume with more than 180 countries and regions increased. At the same time, the turnover with partners under free trade agreements reached 19.55 trillion yuan, an increase of 30 percent, accounting for more than 70 percent of the growth in foreign trade. It is also noteworthy that China’s trade volume with other APEC economies grew by 23.9 percent to 24.07 trillion yuan.
Trade turnover with ASEAN showed an increase of 22.7 percent to 6.84 trillion yuan, with the European Union – up 8.4 percent to 4.78 trillion yuan, and with the United States – up 4.1 percent to 3.18 trillion yuan.
Export continues to shift towards new and higher-quality growth factors – the manufacturing equipment sector accounted for almost 90 percent of export growth, and the share of intermediate goods in the value volume of exports exceeded 50 percent, which ensured the functioning of global production and distribution chains, stated the GTU.
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