Published on: 2026-05-07
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
In the first quarter of this year, China’s goods export and import demonstrated double-digit growth, which indicates high stability and dynamics in the country’s foreign trade.
Export structure: focus on innovation, environmental friendliness, and technological advancement
Despite the complex and tense external environment, many Chinese foreign trade enterprises have increased investments in innovation and development, offering products with high added value and competitive advantages, thereby responding to the rise in production costs and intensified market competition.
In the first quarter, the total volume of China’s imports and exports exceeded 11 trillion yuan, which became a record figure for the same period of previous years. The share of electrical products exports exceeded 60%. Exports of green products, including electric vehicles, lithium batteries, wind generators, and their components, increased by 77.5%, 50.4%, and 45.2% respectively on an annual basis.
“Strengthening the position of green products reflects the transition of Chinese foreign trade from price competition to competition in the field of technologies and standards, which is becoming an important driver of its growth,” notes Chzhao Fuczyun, head of the Department of Comprehensive Studies of the Department of Foreign Economic Research at the Research Center for Development Issues under the State Council of the PRC.
The British newspaper Financial Times notes that there are new changes in the structure of Chinese foreign trade. Unlike the previous model, which was mainly based on the export of goods, technologies, digital systems, and related services are gradually beginning to take a larger share.
High activity of market participants and wide geographical presence
Geopolitical conflicts are escalating, global oil prices are fluctuating sharply, logistics and supply chains are being disrupted… In conditions of increasing market uncertainty, market diversification becomes a universal strategy for foreign trade enterprises to distribute risks and expand market presence.
In the first quarter, China’s imports and exports with developed economies, including the European Union, generally showed positive dynamics, while the growth rates of foreign trade turnover with regions such as ASEAN, Latin America, and Africa demonstrated double-digit growth.
The tense situation in the Middle East negatively affects global shipping. However, the China-Europe routes, departing from Shanghai, Shenyang, Chongqing, Xi’an, and other cities, continue to head to major European cities at full capacity. In the first quarter of this year, 5,460 railway shipments were made along the China-Europe routes, which is 29% more on an annual basis. The total volume of shipments amounted to 546 thousand standard containers (TEU), representing a 22% increase compared to the same period last year.
Balanced trade development and joint use of the huge market opportunities
In the first quarter, China’s imports grew by 19.6% year-on-year, with supply growth observed from more than 150 countries and regions. In particular, imports of high-tech products increased by 25.1%, and the import rates of raw materials and consumer goods also demonstrated stable growth rates.
The website of the American publication Eurasia Review recently published an article noting that against the backdrop of tightening global monetary policy and geopolitical instability, China’s imports nevertheless grew by almost 20%, reflecting high domestic industrial demand and a stable strengthening of the consumer base.
The series of measures on openness, implemented by China, sends a clear signal: the country is ready to be not only a “world factory,” but also a “global market.”
Relying on the advantages of a super-large market and a complex industrial system, China stimulates industrial modernization through technological innovation and promotes mutually beneficial cooperation, raising the level of openness. This embodies the strategic course of Chinese foreign trade, which constantly opens new opportunities for global development and progress.
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