China's foreign trade recorded strong growth in the first half of 2026, with total imports and exports rising 16.9% year over year in yuan terms, according to figures released Tuesday by the General Administration of Customs (GAC), Qazinform News Agency cites Xinhua.
During the January-June period, the total value of trade reached 25.47 trillion yuan (around 3.75 trillion U.S. dollars), marking the first time the country's trade volume has exceeded 25 trillion yuan in the first half of a year. Exports totaled 14.73 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.4 percent from a year earlier and the 11th consecutive quarter of export growth.
Imports climbed 22.1 percent year over year to 10.74 trillion yuan. Import growth outpaced exports by 8.7 percentage points, reflecting continued efforts to promote more balanced trade development. Despite a challenging and rapidly evolving global environment, China's foreign trade maintained steady momentum, demonstrating stable growth, and strong overall development, the GAC said.
Earlier, Qazinform reported Kazakhstan’s trade volume surges 5.7% in the first half of 2026.