China's foreign trade goes off to a strong start in 2026, as Q1 trade volume exceeds 11 trillion yuan

China's foreign trade has regained momentum in the first three months of this year, with foreign trade in goods jumping by 15 percent to reach 11.84 trillion yuan ($1.73 trillion), latest data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed on Tuesday.

It marks the first time that China's first-quarter foreign trade has exceeded 11 trillion yuan, while the quarterly growth rate also hit a five-year high.

In a breakdown, exports reached 6.85 trillion yuan in the first quarter, up 11.9 percent year-on-year. Imports totaled 4.99 trillion yuan, hitting a record high for the same period in history, with growth accelerating to 19.6 percent — which was 7.7 percentage points higher than the export growth rate, customs data showed.

"China's foreign trade has gone off to a very strong start this year," Wang Jun, deputy head of GAC, said at a press briefing held by the State Council Information Office on Tuesday.

Wang noted that the external environment facing China's foreign trade remains complex and severe, as "the current international situation remains turbulent and unstable, geopolitical conflicts are intensifying, international oil prices are fluctuating sharply, global demand and production are contracting, and logistics and supply chains have been disrupted."

Observers believe the robust data was driven by a bunch of positive factors, including the upgrade of manufacturing industries, diversification of trade partners as well as China's irreplaceable role in global supply chain. Meanwhile, the deeper expansion of domestic demand, combined with the country' concrete push for high-level opening-up, also strengthened imports - which all injected fresh new impetus to the trade engines.

"This growth is not just about the numbers — it reflects the strong rebound of domestic production and demand, along with China's deepening integration into global supply chains," Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The expansion of domestic demand has driven import growth, according to Wang Jun. In the first quarter, China's imports of energy products and metal ores increased by 4.4 percent and 13.2 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, imports of mechanical and electronic products were up 21.7 percent, and imports of consumer goods grew 5.4 percent.

Li Changan, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the acceleration in import growth is the result of China's implementation of a balanced foreign trade policy.

In the first quarter, China's trade with Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries totaled 6.06 trillion yuan, rising 14.2 percent and accounting for 51.2 percent of total imports and exports. Trade with ASEAN and Latin America both increased by 15.4 percent, with Africa up 23.7 percent, the EU up 14.6 percent, the UK up 13.1 percent, and other APEC economies up 13.4 percent, relevant data showed.

China's new export growth drivers remained strong in the first quarter, customs data showed. Notably, the country's exports of green products — including electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and wind turbines and parts — surged by 77.5 percent, 50.4 percent, and 45.2 percent in the first three months, respectively.

According to Li, the promising data is also a result of the implementation of a series of government policies to stabilize foreign investment and foreign trade. He took example of the island-wide special customs operation of the Hainan Free Trade Port, which have also contributed positively to foreign trade growth.

Wang Peng said that the robust growing momentum has set the tone for full-year trade growth, which is expected to "create a buffer to cope with future external volatilities".