China's foreign trade up 14.9% in first four months

China's foreign trade grew by 14.9 percent on a yearly basis to reach 16.23 trillion yuan ($2.39 trillion) in the first four months of 2026, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Saturday. The country's exports rose 11.3 percent year-on-year to 9.33 trillion yuan, while its imports jumped 20 percent on a yearly basis to 6.9 trillion yuan. The nation's trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations reached 2.75 trillion yuan between January and April, up 15.7 percent on a yearly basis, while its imports and exports to the European Union grew by 13.2 percent year-on-year to 2.01 trillion yuan. In the meantime, China's trade with economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative surged 13.5 percent year-on-year to 8.28 trillion yuan. In April alone, China's total goods trade stood at 4.38 trillion yuan, up 14.2 percent year-on-year, said the administration. Lyu Daliang, director of the GAC's department of statistics and analysis, said China's imports and exports posted double-digit year-on-year growth in April and also rose 6.5 percent from March, reflecting a solid performance in foreign trade so far this year. "China has continued to deepen international industrial cooperation, expand intermediate goods trade and develop green trade, contributing to global industrial upgrading and green development through Chinese manufacturing and innovation," said Lyu. In terms of export structure, China's exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 5.92 trillion yuan during the January-April period, up 17.6 percent year-on-year, accounting for 63.5 percent of the country's total exports, 3.4 percentage points higher than a year earlier, according to customs statistics. Among them, China's exports of green and low-carbon products such as electric vehicles, lithium batteries and wind turbine generators jumped 68.1 percent, 43.2 percent and 40.7 percent, year-on-year, respectively, while exports of industrial robots rose 30 percent year-on-year in value terms. Wang Xiaohong, a researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges in Beijing, said China's foreign trade will maintain stable growth momentum in the coming months, supported by the country's resilient manufacturing sector, diversified export markets and continued policy support for trade and consumption. Wang said that rising exports of high-value-added and green products will further enhance the quality and sustainability of China's trade growth, despite lingering uncertainties in the global economy and geopolitical environment.