SCIO briefing on China's imports, exports in Q1 2026

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Speakers:

Mr. Wang Jun, vice minister of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC)

Mr. Lyu Daliang, spokesperson of the GACC and director general of the Department of Statistics and Analysis of the GACC

Chairperson:

Ms. Jia Huili, deputy director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and spokesperson of the SCIO

Date:

April 14, 2026

Jia Huili:

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO). This is a regular briefing on China's economic data. Today, we have invited Mr. Wang Jun, vice minister of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), to brief you on China's import and export data for the first quarter of 2026 and to take your questions. Also attending today's press conference is Mr. Lyu Daliang, spokesperson of the GACC and director general of the Department of Statistics and Analysis of the GACC.

Now, I'll give the floor to Mr. Wang for his introduction.

Wang Jun:

Thank you, Ms. Jia. Good morning, friends from the media. I'm delighted to meet you all. I will start by briefing you on the imports and exports of goods in the first quarter of this year, and then my colleague and I will answer your questions.

Since the beginning of this year, amid increasingly complex and volatile external conditions, all regions an departments have earnestly implemented more proactive and effective macro policies under the strong leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, leading to strong momentum and a good start for foreign trade. According to customs statistics, China's goods trade rose 15% year on year to 11.84 trillion yuan. Of this total, exports amounted to 6.85 trillion yuan, up 11.9%, while imports reached 4.99 trillion yuan, up 19.6%. Specifically, there are five main features:

First, the scale has reached a record high for the period. In the first quarter, imports and exports exceeded 11 trillion yuan for the first time on record for the same period, and the quarterly growth rate was also the highest in the past five years.

Second, trade has grown across all types of business entities. In the first quarter, imports and exports by China's private enterprises reached 6.78 trillion yuan, an increase of 16.2%, with their share of total imports and exports rising further to 57.3%. During the same period, foreign-invested enterprises recorded 3.47 trillion yuan and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) 1.56 trillion yuan in trade, up 16.1% and 8%, respectively.

Third, market diversification has continued to deepen and broaden. In the first quarter, China's trade with Belt and Road partner countries totaled 6.06 trillion yuan, up 14.2%, accounting for 51.2% of total trade. Trade with ASEAN and Latin America both rose 15.4%, trade with Africa grew 23.7%, trade with the EU and the UK increased 14.6% and 13.1%, respectively, and trade with other APEC economies increased 13.4%.

Fourth, new drivers for exports have continued to gain momentum. In the first quarter, China exported machinery and electronic products worth 4.34 trillion yuan, up 18.3%, accounting for 63.4% of total exports, 3.5 percentage points higher than the same period last year. Among them, exports of green products such as electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and wind power generators and parts grew 77.5%, 50.4% and 45.2%, respectively.

Fifth, expanding domestic demand has driven import growth. In the first quarter, China imported 291 million metric tons of energy products and 405 million metric tons of metal ores, up 4.4% and 13.2%, respectively. During the same period, imports of machinery and electronic products totaled 1.97 trillion yuan, up 21.7%, while imports of consumer goods reached 418.92 billion yuan, up 5.4%.

This year marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). All regions and departments have taken multiple measures to stabilize the scale of trade and optimize its structure, while enterprises have proactively identified and adapted to changes, stabilized orders and expanded markets, driving rapid growth in China's imports and exports in the first quarter. However, at the same time, we must also note that the current international situation remains turbulent, with intensifying geopolitical conflicts, sharp fluctuations in global oil prices, contracting global demand and production, and disrupted logistics and supply chains. China's foreign trade still faces a complex and challenging external environment. Customs nationwide will thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, faithfully fulfill the duties of safeguarding the country's gateways while promoting development, focus on strategic tasks including expanding high-level opening up and better coordinating development and security, work to improve regulatory efficiency and service levels, organize a special campaign for cross-border trade facilitation in 2026, strengthen the country's gateway security, create a first-class business environment at ports, and promote smoother domestic and international economic flows, contributing customs strength to a good start for the 15th Five-Year Plan.

Thank you.