Shanghai Trade Rises 17.1% in First Eight Months of 2026 as ASEAN Leads

In the first eight months of 2026, Shanghai's cumulative imports and exports reached RMB 3.44 trillion, up 17.1% year on year. In August, the city's foreign trade extended the growth momentum seen in the first seven months, with imports and exports rising 13.1%, exports up 16.1% and imports up 10.5%. In August alone, Shanghai's imports from Africa rose 21.8%. Over the same period, exports to the United States increased 13.2%, maintaining growth since April.

In the first eight months, Shanghai's imports and exports with ASEAN totaled RMB 546.2 billion, up 30.6%. ASEAN has held its position as Shanghai's largest trading partner for four consecutive months since May, with trade with Vietnam and Singapore rising 78.3% and 31.4% respectively. Imports and exports with South Korea grew 64.3%, of which exports rose 1.3-fold.

By key product category, in the first eight months, combined imports and exports of five AI-related product categories—integrated circuits, servers, memory, hard drives and semiconductor manufacturing equipment—rose 90.7%, accounting for 24.9% of Shanghai's total imports and exports over the period. Over the same period, exports of the "new three" products rose 78.2%.