China’s Q1 Foreign Trade Hits Record High with 15% YoY Growth

Data released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on the 14th showed that China’s total import and export value of goods trade in the first quarter of 2026 reached 11.84 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15%, according to People’s Daily Online. This not only marks the first time that the quarterly scale has exceeded 11 trillion yuan but also sets the highest quarterly growth rate in nearly five years.

“It has made a strong start with sound progress,” Wang Jun, Vice Minister of the GAC, stated at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on the same day. He emphasized that amid the complex and severe external environment, the rapid growth of China’s import and export in the first quarter lies in the stable foundation, strong vitality and powerful momentum of its foreign trade.

The stable foundation is mainly reflected in the steady progress of the overall market and the stability of diversified markets, as reported by China.org.cn. By the first quarter of this year, China’s total import and export value has remained above 10 trillion yuan for 12 consecutive quarters, and the growth rate has returned to double-digit growth since the fourth quarter of 2022.

In the first quarter, China’s imports and exports to ASEAN and Latin America both increased by 15.4%, 23.7% to Africa, 14.6% to the EU and 13.1% to the UK, effectively making up for the gap caused by the decline in imports and exports to the United States, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The strong vitality is embodied in the booming vitality of market entities and the distinctive advantages of regional development. In the first quarter, there were 618,000 enterprises with import and export records in China, among which more than 540,000 were private enterprises, with imports and exports of 6.78 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.2%, accounting for 57.3% of China’s total import and export value, as noted by China Economic Net.

Foreign-invested enterprises achieved imports and exports of 3.47 trillion yuan, an increase of 16.1%, maintaining growth for eight consecutive quarters. Meanwhile, East China, central and western China, and Northeast China gave full play to their respective regional and industrial advantages, with imports and exports increasing by 14.3%, 20.2% and 4% respectively in the first quarter.

The powerful momentum is reflected in the optimized export structure and the strengthened import momentum. Driven by the recovery of external demand, the advantages of China’s industrial supporting system have been further released, with exports reaching 6.85 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.9%, according to Global Times.

Exports of green products such as 3D printers, electric vehicles and lithium batteries surged by 119%, 77.5% and 50.4% respectively. Imports reached 4.99 trillion yuan, an increase of 19.6%, hitting a record high for the same period in history, among which imports of mechanical and electrical products and consumer goods rose by 21.7% and 5.4% year-on-year.

Lan Rixu, a professor at Central University of Finance and Economics, commented that the double-digit growth of private enterprises’ imports and exports fully demonstrates the remarkable effect of China’s measures to stabilize foreign trade, and private enterprises have shown strong resilience in the face of external uncertainties.