China's foreign trade has shown robust growth in the first eight months of 2026, with a significant increase in both exports and imports, driven by strong overseas demand. Official data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) revealed that the country's total goods imports and exports surged by 17.6 percent year on year to 34.78 trillion yuan. This growth rate was 0.3 percentage points faster than the previous seven months, with exports rising by 14.6 percent to 20.17 trillion yuan and imports expanding by 22 percent to 14.61 trillion yuan.
In August alone, China's goods trade reached 4.65 trillion yuan, marking a 19.8 percent increase from the previous year. Exports grew by 18.6 percent, while imports rose by 21.7 percent. The continuous double-digit growth in both exports and imports highlights the sustained momentum in China's trade sector, with import growth surpassing exports for the sixth consecutive month.
The surge in China's exports has been fueled by strong demand for high-tech and artificial intelligence (AI) products. Notably, exports of mechanical and electrical products increased by 21.9 percent to 12.91 trillion yuan, while exports of integrated circuits saw a remarkable 95.4 percent surge to 1.77 trillion yuan. However, exports of labor-intensive products experienced a slight decline of 0.6 percent during this period.
Experts noted that China's exports in US dollar terms soared by 25 percent in August, driven by robust overseas demand for high-tech and AI-related goods. The country's manufacturing new export order index also improved, reaching 50.1 in August, indicating a return to expansion territory. Lyu Daliang, director of the GAC's Department of Statistics and Analysis, attributed this performance to China's comprehensive industrial system and impressive innovation capacity.
Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank, highlighted the global manufacturing cycle's role in driving AI-related capital expenditure, which is expected to bolster China's export growth. Additionally, China's trade relations with various overseas markets have expanded, with trade with ASEAN growing by 20.6 percent to 5.95 trillion yuan and trade with Belt and Road partner countries increasing by 15.9 percent to 17.74 trillion yuan.
Foreign-invested enterprises have played a significant role in China's trade expansion, with nearly 80,000 such enterprises engaging in imports or exports, contributing to a trade value of 10.15 trillion yuan in the first eight months of the year. The "China Opportunity 2.0" initiative has attracted more foreign-invested enterprises to integrate into China's industrial and innovation chains, leveraging the country's market size and technological advancements to drive global innovation dividends.
Tuesday's data also highlighted substantial growth in imports of mechanical and electrical products, which surged by 31.6 percent to 6.21 trillion yuan in the first eight months of 2026. Agricultural imports increased by 6.6 percent to 1.04 trillion yuan, with notable growth in technology-related imports such as integrated circuits and semiconductor devices. Wang Qing, chief macro analyst at Golden Credit Rating, expects chip imports to maintain rapid growth in the near term, supporting the overall import value, which is anticipated to sustain a relatively fast pace in September despite a potential easing in year-on-year growth due to a higher comparison base.
