The General Administration of Customs released foreign trade data today. In the first two months of this year, various regions and departments proactively took action and moved with urgency, while numerous foreign trade enterprises actively secured orders and expanded markets. As a result, the total value of China's goods trade imports and exports increased by 18.3% year-on-year, marking a good start for foreign trade.

       Since the beginning of this year, China's foreign trade has generally continued its trend of steady progress, further demonstrating its resilience and vitality. In the first two months of 2026, the total value of China's goods trade imports and exports reached 7.73 trillion yuan, up 18.3% year-on-year.

       From the export perspective, new growth drivers continued to strengthen, market diversification yielded notable results, and new business models and formats maintained growth momentum. Exports in the first two months totaled 4.62 trillion yuan, an increase of 19.2%.

       From the import perspective, driven by robust consumption during the Spring Festival holiday, import demand continued to be released. Imports in the first two months reached 3.11 trillion yuan, up 17.1%.

       Looking at trade patterns, in the first two months, China's general trade imports and exports reached 4.78 trillion yuan, up 13.5%; processing trade imports and exports totaled 1.43 trillion yuan, an increase of 19.3%; and bonded logistics imports and exports amounted to 1.24 trillion yuan, surging 36.9%.

       Regarding trading partners, in the first two months, the total value of trade between China and ASEAN reached 1.24 trillion yuan, up 20.3%; trade between China and the EU totaled 998.94 billion yuan, an increase of 19.9%; while trade between China and the US amounted to 609.71 billion yuan, down 16.9%. During the same period, China's total imports and exports with countries jointly building the "Belt and Road" reached 4.02 trillion yuan, an increase of 20%.

In terms of foreign trade entities, in the first two months, imports and exports by private enterprises reached 4.51 trillion yuan, up 22.8%; foreign-invested enterprises saw their imports and exports hit 2.2 trillion yuan, an increase of 15.3%; and state-owned enterprises recorded imports and exports of 1 trillion yuan, up 7.4%.

       Yan Min, Director of the Macroeconomic Research Office at the Economic Forecasting Department of the State Information Center, stated that China's foreign trade achieving a "good start" in early 2026 is attributed to the combined effect of four factors: recovering global demand, the release of policy dividends, prominent industrial advantages, and vibrant micro-entities. Global demand has marginally improved, with the manufacturing PMI remaining above the boom-bust line. China's steady foreign trade policies have taken effect, and the deepening of institutional opening-up has provided a solid guarantee for foreign trade. "Made in China" has formed a dual-wheel drive pattern of "leading emerging industries + stabilizing traditional industries," with exports from mid-to-high-end manufacturing maintaining high growth and product competitiveness continuously consolidating. This good start has laid a solid foundation for achieving "stable volume and improved quality" in foreign trade throughout the year.

       Experts note that we must also recognize that there are still many uncertainties and unforeseen factors at present, especially the recent intensification of geopolitical conflicts, which has significantly impacted the international industrial and supply chains. To stabilize the fundamentals of foreign trade, it is still necessary to conscientiously implement the deployments of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, promote innovative trade development, and make every effort to stabilize the scale and optimize the structure of foreign trade.