The nation’s foreign trade in goods maintained strong growth momentum in the first 10 months of 2026, with imports posting especially robust gains, according to official data.
Total imports and exports grew 20 percent year on year over the period, accelerating from 18.8 percent in the first nine months, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).
Exports jumped 35.2 percent year-on-year to US$412.3 billion last month, according to the GAC, while imports in October expanded 41.6 percent to US$307.1 billion.
Between January and October, the country logged a US$1.04 trillion trade surplus, even as the trade surplus narrowed last month to US$105.3 billion from US$133.5 billion in September as imports picked up pace.
Analysts epect China to surpass the record US$1.2 trillion surplus it hit last year.
“We expect Chinese exports to stay strong for the rest of this year, led by electronics and autos,” said Dave Chia, an economist at Moody’s Analytics.
Meanwhile, exports to the United States surged 32.9 percent last month, the GAC data showed.
The figures come ahead of another meeting between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Shenzhen next week.
The two have navigated a shaky truce to a trade war since their meeting in October of 2025.
Beijing on Monday officially announced the extension of a trade truce with Washington due to expire on November 10 by two months, but said last week that expanding its purchases of US farm goods would hinge on the implementation of their agreed reciprocal tariff-reduction arrangement.
“The risk of additional tariffs and other trade barriers will remain elevated in 2027, particularly as Chinese manufacturers continue expanding their presence in overseas markets,” said Joe Peissel, lead macroeconomist at Trivium China.
Greater reliance on exports, however, leaves China’s economy increasingly exposed to any slowdown in global demand.
Much of the strength in exports this year has been fuelled by a global push to expand AI infrastructure.
“The outlook for exports depends on how long the AI boom will last,” Macquarie analysts wrote.
They expect China’s exports to accelerate further in the fourth quarter before starting to slow from the first quarter of 2027. (Agencies)
