Three keywords to interpret my country’s foreign trade import and export data in the first 10 months

According to data released by the General Administration of Customs on November 10, my country's import and export of goods trade in the first 10 months of this year was 44.81 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20%, maintaining a strong growth trend. Among them, exports increased by 17.6% and imports increased by 23.6%, with imports growing faster than exports.

Hu Yi, associate professor at the School of Economics and Management of Wuhan University, said, "The continued growth of exports is due to the comprehensive international competitiveness formed by the complete industrial chain of 'Made in China', which meets the needs of overseas consumers for 'high quality and good price' products, and also contributes to countries' response to inflationary pressures. The growth rate of imports continues to be faster than that of exports, which shows the huge opportunities and development dividends that China's ultra-large-scale market provides global companies."

Export to "new"

In terms of exports, in the first 10 months, my country's exports were 25.99 trillion yuan. Among them, the export of mechanical and electrical products was 16.81 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25.2%, accounting for 64.7% of my country's total export value during the same period, and its proportion increased by 3.9 percentage points compared with the same period last year.

The marine OBN (ocean bottom node) instrument independently developed by Weihai Shuangfeng Geophysical Equipment Co., Ltd., a national-level specialized and new "little giant" enterprise, is exported to South America and the Middle East. The single order from the Bahrain National Oil Company alone amounted to US$14.8 million. Mao Yansheng, the company’s general manager, said, “The entire chain, from raw materials to processing, assembly and research and development, is independently completed by Shuangfeng Geophysical and has our own intellectual property rights.”

Data show that in the first 10 months, exports of integrated circuits and storage components increased by 101.9% and 132.5% respectively; exports of 3D printers, digital cameras, and industrial robots increased by 104.8%, 41.4%, and 17.8% respectively; "New Exports of "three" products, electric motorcycles and bicycles, wind turbines and their parts increased by 46.5%, 33.3% and 19.7% respectively... Groups of eye-catching data reflect the clear trend of intelligent, green and high-end export products in my country.

Wang Jun, spokesperson and deputy director of the General Administration of Customs, said, "As my country's advanced manufacturing industry continues to grow bigger and stronger, the upgrading and integrated development of the industrial system has accelerated, continuing to revitalize and empower foreign trade growth."

As a barometer and weathervane of my country's foreign trade, the 140th Canton Fair focused on global procurement hotspots such as new energy, intelligent manufacturing, and embodied intelligence, and set up 17 emerging future industry zones such as service robots, drones, and display technology. A number of "advanced manufacturing" products were unveiled.

Structural improvement

While my country's foreign trade growth maintains a good momentum, structural highlights are also worthy of attention.

Market diversification continues to consolidate. In the first 10 months, my country's imports and exports to more than 180 countries and regions achieved growth. Among them, imports and exports to ASEAN, Latin America, Africa and other emerging markets increased by 24.2%, 14.4%, and 17.6% respectively year-on-year; imports and exports to countries jointly building the "Belt and Road" were 22.88 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.5%.

Various foreign trade business entities work together to make progress. In the first 10 months, my country's private enterprises' import and export volume was 25.46 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.1%, accounting for 56.8% of my country's total import and export value. During the same period, the import and export of foreign-invested enterprises was 13.15 trillion yuan, an increase of 20.4%; the import and export of state-owned enterprises was 6.12 trillion yuan, an increase of 19.1%.

At present, the Hekou port on the China-Vietnam border is ushering in the peak season for cross-border freight. Batch after batch of fruits and vegetables from the Yunnan Plateau were quickly exported to Vietnam, and specialty agricultural products such as durian and dragon fruit from Vietnam also cleared customs smoothly.

Liang Feng, foreign trade manager of Youjie Import and Export Trading (Hekou) Co., Ltd., told reporters, "Since this year, our import and export orders have increased significantly. Now that port customs clearance is getting faster, we are more confident in expanding the market."

At the Global Digital Trade Center in Yiwu, Zhejiang, there are crowds of people, and more and more African faces are attracting attention.

According to Hangzhou Customs statistics, in the first three quarters, Yiwu's imports and exports to Africa were 149.73 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 34.7%, a record high for the same period in history.

"This year I especially expanded the African market. Last month I visited Tanzania for 15 days to see the business environment there. I found that the African market is a very emerging and growing market." said Chen Jinbao, head of Zhejiang Dove Technology Co., Ltd.

Zhu Shun, president of the China-Africa Chamber of Commerce in Yiwu, said, "Africa's foreign trade purchases in Yiwu are growing every year, and this trend is visible and will continue to grow in the next few years."

Quality and efficiency are improving

my country's "door" to opening up is opening wider and wider, and the space for mutually beneficial international economic and trade cooperation continues to expand, providing reliable supply for the stability of the global production and supply chain and providing opportunities for global companies to share the Chinese market.

Wang Jun, spokesperson and deputy director of the General Administration of Customs, said, "In the first three quarters, my country's imports and exports to more than 120 countries and regions have achieved two-way growth. Among the partners that have signed free trade agreements with us, trade with more than 70% of partners has achieved two-way growth. Free trade dividends continue to be released, benefiting all parties."

Since this year, Yiwu International Trade City has launched in overseas markets in Angola and Tanzania. In the first three quarters, there were 57 countries and regions in Africa that had trade relations with Yiwu, of which 26 had trade volumes exceeding 1 billion yuan. The trade volume with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria exceeded 10 billion yuan. In the first three quarters, a total of 7,152 companies in Yiwu had import and export trade relations with Africa.

"We have currently connected with a variety of bulk products, including lithium, copper, cotton, and cocoa, which are also Africa's advantageous resources." said Mudile, project manager of the African Industrial and Commercial Real Estate Center of Zhejiang Africa Holding Group. "We hope to create such a platform to promote bulk trade activities between China and Africa, and at the same time promote the development and growth of these African companies in China."

From October 21st to 23rd, the 2026 "Multinational Enterprise Tianjin Tour" event was held. More than 300 guests from 240 companies, institutions and industry organizations from more than 30 countries and regions around the world gathered in Tianjin to look for "China opportunities" on the spot.

Larissa Einmeier, project manager of Think Network Co., Ltd., said, "China contains huge opportunities, especially for Germany. We can learn a lot from it. Of course we should further explore and deepen the Chinese market."

Hu Yi, associate professor at the School of Economics and Management of Wuhan University, said, "The foreign trade data in the first 10 months have further enhanced confidence in the high-quality development of China's economy. This confidence comes not only from the complete industrial system and strong manufacturing foundation, but also from the continuously improving technological innovation capabilities and the resilience of the industrial chain and supply chain, as well as from the ultra-large-scale market and the expanding high-level opening policy. China, which has always adhered to a high level of opening up, has become an 'anchor of stability' in the complex and ever-changing international economic and trade landscape."