China’s Foreign Trade Jumps 18.8% in First Three Quarters
China’s total goods trade reached 39.94 trillion yuan (roughly $5.6 trillion) in the first three quarters of 2026, up 18.8 percent year-on-year — the fastest growth for the period in five years, according to customs data released on October 14.
Exports rose 16.4 percent to 23.2 trillion yuan, while imports climbed 22.3 percent to 16.74 trillion yuan, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced at a State Council Information Office press conference. The figures, reported by Xinhua, show a rare pattern in which import growth is outpacing export growth — a shift officials attribute to a deliberate push for more balanced trade.
“China’s foreign trade has effectively responded to various external shocks and challenges, maintaining strong development momentum,” GAC spokesperson and Deputy Director Wang Jun said in announcing the data.
Growth Is Accelerating
The headline figure conceals a striking trend: trade growth is speeding up quarter by quarter. As CCTV News reported, growth was 15.3 percent in the first quarter, 18.3 percent in the second, and 22.3 percent in the third.
Monthly growth has stayed in double digits for six consecutive months. In September alone, total trade hit 5.16 trillion yuan — the first time a single month has exceeded 5 trillion yuan — up 27.5 percent year-on-year, with exports up 29.6 percent and imports up 24.6 percent.
CCTV noted that the first-three-quarters pace is the fastest for the period in five years and that China continues to rank as the world’s largest goods trading nation.
Belt and Road Trade Tops 20 Trillion Yuan
Trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) reached 20.37 trillion yuan, up 17.1 percent, with exports rising 16.6 percent and imports 17.9 percent. These partners now account for 51 percent of China’s total trade and contributed 47.1 percent of its overall trade growth.
According to CCTV News, China was among the top three trading partners of 134 BRI countries and the largest partner of 74 of them in the first seven months of the year.
The data also highlighted a shift in cross-border logistics. Waterway transport accounted for 12.99 trillion yuan of BRI trade, up 7.1 percent, but road (+34.1 percent), rail (+16.4 percent), and especially air transport (+60.1 percent) grew faster, as exporters pushed higher-value and time-sensitive goods through faster channels.
A High-Tech Export Upgrade
Official commentary placed the growth in the context of China’s industrial upgrading. In the first three quarters, imports and exports of industrial robots, electronic components, computer parts, and electrical equipment combined exceeded 10 trillion yuan, up 58.9 percent, contributing 11.3 percentage points to overall trade growth.
Self-branded exports grew 26.7 percent and now represent 24.8 percent of exports, up 2 percentage points from a year earlier — a sign that Chinese manufacturers are capturing more value.
Balanced Trade and Diversification
Import growth exceeding export growth by nearly 6 percentage points reflects a policy emphasis on the “balanced development of imports and exports” featured in the Government Work Report and the 15th Five-Year Plan. Industry analysts have noted that a narrower trade surplus can ease trade frictions with major partners.
Diversification is central to the story. Trade with Belt and Road, neighboring, Latin American, and African markets has all expanded faster than overall trade. China granted zero-tariff treatment to 53 African diplomatic partner nations effective May 1, making it the first major economy to offer unilateral, full zero-tariff treatment to all African diplomatic partners and least-developed countries with diplomatic ties.
Challenges Ahead
Despite the strong numbers, officials struck a cautious note. “The current international environment is unstable, and there are still many hard-to-predict factors,” the GAC said, pointing to geopolitical conflicts and rising trade protectionism and unilateralism.
At the same time, the customs authority argued that the world economy retains resilience and that China’s large domestic market, complete industrial system, and coordinated policy measures give it the foundation to sustain stable growth.
What to Watch
The fourth-quarter data will reveal whether the momentum can be sustained through the rest of the year and whether the trade balance continues to shift toward imports. Much depends on global demand, the trajectory of high-tech exports, and how escalating trade tensions with major partners unfold in the months ahead.
For now, the first-three-quarters figures offer China a strong counterpoint to a global backdrop of protectionism and uncertainty — and a reminder that the world’s largest exporter has, so far, kept growing.