The General Administration of Customs released the latest foreign trade data on May 9th. According to customs statistics, in the first four months of 2026, China's total import and export value of goods trade reached 16.23 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%. Exports amounted to 9.33 trillion yuan, up 11.3%, while imports reached 6.9 trillion yuan, rising 20%.

A vice president of a Chinese business economics association stated that the factors supporting the substantial growth in goods trade exports during this period primarily involve the following aspects: a recovery in external demand, diversified and stable markets, an upgrading export structure towards new and high-quality goods, the accelerated rise of new forms of foreign trade, and the continuous release of innovation momentum from business entities. Since the beginning of the year, cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouses have flourished, building bridges between domestic foreign trade enterprises and global consumers, thereby driving the increasing dynamism of foreign trade.

Customs data shows that, by trade mode, general trade imports and exports in the first four months amounted to 9.82 trillion yuan, an increase of 8.5%. Processing trade reached 3.08 trillion yuan, up 21.3%, and bonded logistics trade totaled 2.81 trillion yuan, surging 38.7%.

In terms of trade partners, China's trade with ASEAN reached 2.75 trillion yuan in the first four months, a growth of 15.7%. Trade with the EU amounted to 2.01 trillion yuan, increasing 13.2%, while trade with the US was 1.25 trillion yuan, a decrease of 12.9%. During the same period, China's total import and export value with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 8.28 trillion yuan, up 13.5%.

An expert from a university's research institute noted that, for a long time, the combined benefits of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership have driven leapfrog development in goods trade between China and ASEAN. On one hand, the efficiency of cross-border logistics between China and ASEAN has continuously improved, providing a solid foundation for in-depth economic and trade cooperation. On the other hand, domestic foreign trade enterprises and ASEAN countries like Vietnam and Malaysia have continuously strengthened cooperation in emerging fields such as the digital economy and artificial intelligence, creating more possibilities for the simultaneous improvement in the volume and quality of foreign trade. The upgraded protocol for version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area has been signed. Once formally implemented, the total trade value between the two sides is expected to reach a new level.

Regarding the types of foreign trade entities, in the first four months, import and export by private enterprises reached 9.31 trillion yuan, a growth of 15.9%. Foreign-invested enterprises accounted for 4.72 trillion yuan, up 15.4%, while state-owned enterprises totaled 2.16 trillion yuan, increasing 9.8%.

Looking at key commodities, on the export side, China's exports of mechanical and electrical products in the first four months amounted to 5.92 trillion yuan, a significant increase of 17.6%. Exports of labor-intensive products reached 1.26 trillion yuan, down 2.6%, and agricultural product exports were 240.15 billion yuan, up 2%. On the import side, imports of mechanical and electrical products reached 2.76 trillion yuan, surging 23.6%. Crude oil imports totaled 185 million tons, up 1.3%, and agricultural product imports were 475.73 billion yuan, an increase of 10.3%.

The association vice president believes that, so far, China's mechanical and electrical products have demonstrated very strong competitiveness in the global market. Driven by policies, domestic mechanical and electrical products and related services are still rapidly iterating and upgrading. Their supply resilience and competitiveness are expected to continue strengthening on the existing basis, accumulating momentum for the continuous optimization of the foreign trade structure.

Additionally, according to customs data, in April alone, China's total import and export value of goods trade was 4.38 trillion yuan, an increase of 14.2%. Exports were 2.48 trillion yuan, up 9.8%, while imports reached 1.9 trillion yuan, rising 20.6%.