China’s Goods Trade Rises 20% in First 10 Months of 2026

What changed

China’s goods trade reached 44.81 trillion yuan in the first 10 months of 2026, up 20% from a year earlier, according to data released on November 10. Exports rose 17.6% to 25.99 trillion yuan, while imports grew faster, at 23.6%.

The clearest shift is in what China sells and where it trades:

• Electromechanical products made up 64.7% of exports, with integrated-circuit exports up 101.9% and memory-component exports up 132.5%.
• Trade with ASEAN rose 24.2%.
• Trade with Belt and Road countries reached 22.88 trillion yuan, up 18.5%.
• Private companies accounted for 56.8% of total trade.

Why it matters

This is more than a large headline number. China’s trade growth is being carried by a product mix that looks increasingly tied to advanced manufacturing: chips, memory components, 3D printers, industrial robots, electric products and wind-power equipment.

That matters because the export story is no longer just about selling more goods. It is also about selling goods made through domestic research, production and assembly. Weihai Shuangfeng Geophysical Equipment’s seabed-node instruments, for example, are exported to South America and the Middle East, with a single Bahrain order worth $14.8 million. The company says it owns the relevant intellectual property and handles the chain from raw materials through research and assembly.

The other important signal is geographic. Growth is spreading through markets beyond China’s traditional commercial routes. Yiwu’s trade with Africa reached 1,497.3 billion yuan in the first three quarters, up 34.7%, while its traders were working across 57 African countries and regions. At the China-Vietnam border, faster customs clearance is supporting more movement in both directions: Chinese fruit and vegetables go into Vietnam, while Vietnamese durians and dragon fruit enter China.

Imports growing faster than exports also gives the figures a different shape. It suggests a market absorbing more goods from abroad while Chinese companies continue expanding sales overseas. The report does not show how much of the increase came from volumes, prices or changes in product composition, so the durability of the pace remains an open question.