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

Yicai:

This year's government work report emphasizes that foreign-funded enterprises will be encouraged to reinvest in China and expand production locally. Could you please introduce the import and export situation of foreign-invested enterprises in the first quarter of this year? Thank you.

Wang Jun:

Foreign-invested enterprises are an important force in China's foreign trade. According to customs statistics, in the first quarter of this year, imports and exports of foreign-invested enterprises totaled 3.47 trillion yuan, an increase of 16.1% year on year, marking eight consecutive quarters of growth. Specifically, export and import growth rates both reached double digits. Import and export vitality continued to be released, which can be summarized in several aspects:

First, the number of foreign-invested enterprises participating in importing and exporting has continued to increase. China continues to fully leverage the strengths of its super-sized market and provide fertile soil for foreign-invested enterprises to invest and do business. Recently, many global executives of multinational companies have visited China and expressed their long-term confidence in the Chinese market. In the first quarter, China saw over 6,200 newly filed foreign-invested enterprises with customs, and the number of foreign-invested enterprises with import and export records increased by more than 1,000 compared with the same period last year, reaching 69,000.

Second, foreign-invested enterprises have played an important role in developing new quality productive forces. China has a complete industrial system and abundant innovation scenarios, and the integration between foreign-invested enterprises and China's manufacturing industry is also deepening. In fields such as automobile manufacturing, instrument and meter manufacturing, and pharmaceutical manufacturing, the import and export share of foreign-invested enterprises accounts for more than 30% of the industry's foreign trade. In the first quarter, imports and exports of foreign-invested enterprises grew by 44.7%, 11.1% and 9.8%, respectively, in the high-tech fields of electronic information, new materials and high-end equipment. At the same time, foreign-funded enterprises are also moving toward smarter export products. In the first quarter, the exports of industrial robots and 3D printers by foreign-funded enterprises accounted for more than 30% and 60% of China's exports of similar products, respectively, and their growth rates also exceeded those of similar products nationwide.

Third, the trade prospects of foreign-funded enterprises are promising. China's stable policy expectations and superior open environment help promote the diversification of trade partners for foreign-funded enterprises, benefiting more companies. In the first quarter, counting by individual countries and regions, foreign-funded enterprises achieved import and export growth with nearly 170 countries and regions, among which more than 130 had double-digit increases. During the same period, nearly 60% of foreign-funded enterprises achieved import and export growth.

China has always been the cornerstone of certainty and a harbor of stability for global development, and is inevitably an ideal, safe and promising investment destination for foreign investors. It is believed that as China continues to advance high-level opening up, foreign-funded enterprises will achieve better development in China.

Thank you.