China's Goods Trade Exceeds RMB 25 Trillion in First Half of 2026, New Three Exports Top RMB 800 Billion

In the first half of 2026, China's total goods trade value reached RMB 25.47 trillion, surpassing the RMB 25 trillion mark for the first time in the same period, up 16.9% year-on-year, maintaining its position as the world's largest goods trader. Imports were particularly strong, reaching RMB 10.74 trillion in the first half, also a first-time breakthrough above RMB 10 trillion for the period, up 22.1% year-on-year, with growth 8.7 percentage points higher than exports. In the second quarter, trade totaled RMB 13.61 trillion, up 18.4% year-on-year, the highest quarterly growth since the third quarter of 2021. June trade reached RMB 4.78 trillion, up 24.2% year-on-year, maintaining positive growth for 17 consecutive months. The number of private enterprises with import-export records in the first half exceeded 660,000, with their share of national trade value rising to 57%.

The "new three" products — electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic cells — saw combined exports of RMB 819.64 billion in the first half, up 46.1% year-on-year, surpassing RMB 800 billion for the first time in the period. Their share of total exports rose to 5.56% in the first half of 2026 from 4.32% in the same period of 2025. In June, exports of electric passenger vehicles reached 589,200 units, up 109% year-on-year, with an export value of RMB 71.72 billion, the first time monthly exports exceeded RMB 70 billion. For context, full-year exports of electric passenger vehicles in 2021 were only RMB 70.16 billion. In the first half, overseas exports of lithium-ion batteries rose 37.6% year-on-year, and solar cells rose 19.6%. In the first quarter of 2026, Chinese companies' global shipments of energy storage systems reached 82.2 GWh, with the global share jumping to 82.2% from 62.7% in the first quarter of 2025.

In the first half, exports of mechanical and electrical products reached approximately RMB 9.36 trillion, accounting for over 60% of total exports, up 20.1% year-on-year. Exports of electronic components and computer parts both recorded double-digit growth, together contributing 6.9 percentage points to export growth. Exports of storage components surged 113.2% year-on-year, and integrated circuit exports rose 88.7%. Industrial robot exports totaled RMB 6.29 billion in the first half, up 18.6%; surgical robot exports reached RMB 480 million, up 3.3 times; cleaning robots and intelligent bionic robots together exported RMB 18.09 billion, with intelligent bionic robot exports exceeding 10,000 units to more than 90 countries and regions. From January to June 2026, the total value of out-licensing deals for China's innovative drugs reached approximately USD 110 billion, equivalent to 80% of the full-year total in 2025.

In the first half, export value of storage components rose 113.2% year-on-year, but volume fell 9.9%; solar cell export value rose 19.6% year-on-year, while export volume by weight declined 1.9%. Exports of traditional labor-intensive products continued to face pressure, with export values of garments, toys, and ceramic products all declining year-on-year.