en.Wedoany.com Reported - China's State Council Information Office held a press conference to introduce the country's foreign trade performance since the beginning of the year. In the first half of the year, China's foreign trade achieved double-digit growth with a sound operational trend. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, related products have shown strong import and export momentum. In the first half of the year, China's computing hardware, including electronic components and computer parts, saw imports and exports reach 5.13 trillion yuan, an increase of 56.6%. Smart products such as AI glasses, AI translators, and mechanical exoskeletons are rapidly iterating, with various innovative products emerging continuously.

According to customs statistics, in the first half of this year, China's total goods trade imports and exports reached 25.47 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.9%. Among this, exports totaled 14.73 trillion yuan, up 13.4%, maintaining growth for 11 consecutive quarters; imports totaled 10.74 trillion yuan, up 22.1%, with the growth rate 8.7 percentage points higher than exports. In June alone, imports and exports reached 4.78 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.2%, maintaining growth for 17 consecutive months.

From an export perspective, the product structure has further optimized. In the first half of the year, China exported 9.36 trillion yuan of electromechanical products, up 20.1%, accounting for 63.5% of total exports, an increase of 3.5 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Exports of high-tech products reached 3.26 trillion yuan, up 39%.

From an import perspective, the growth rate of imports in the first half of the year was 8.7 percentage points higher than that of exports, promoting balanced development of imports and exports. Among these, imports of bulk commodities such as energy, electromechanical products, and agricultural products increased by 3.4%, 28%, and 8.6%, respectively.

From the perspective of trading partners, diversified markets continue to consolidate. In the first half of the year, China's imports and exports with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative reached 12.97 trillion yuan, up 14.8%, accounting for 50.9% of total foreign trade. Imports and exports with neighboring countries reached 9.44 trillion yuan, up 20.6%. Imports and exports with Latin America and Africa increased by 16.2% and 19.6%, respectively, and with the European Union by 10.2%.

From the perspective of business entities, various types of business entities showed good growth trends. Private enterprises' imports and exports reached 14.53 trillion yuan, up 17%, accounting for 57% of total foreign trade. Imports and exports of foreign-invested enterprises and state-owned enterprises increased by 17.1% and 16.8%, respectively.

Wang Jun, Vice Minister of the General Administration of Customs, stated at the press conference: Overall, China's foreign trade achieved impressive results in the first half of the year. At the same time, the current external environment remains complex and volatile. The World Bank believes that the global economy is facing pressures from rising energy prices, increasing inflationary pressures, and expectations of tighter monetary policy, with the outlook for economic growth weakening. Forecast data from the International Monetary Fund indicates that global economic growth will slow from 3.5% last year to 3% this year, and the growth rate of goods and services trade volume will also slow from 5% last year to 3.5% this year. In the second half of the year, China's foreign trade faces certain pressures, but with strong innovation momentum, vibrant entity vitality, and high levels of openness, the fundamentals of foreign trade remain stable, and the positive momentum of foreign trade development is expected to be maintained.

In June 2026, rare earth exports were 5,104.80 tons, a decrease of 34.1% compared to June 2025. Cumulative exports from January to June 2026 totaled 30,482.80 tons, a decrease of 6.4% compared to the same period in 2025.

In June 2026, steel exports were 10.32 million tons, an increase of 6.6% compared to June 2025. Cumulative exports from January to June 2026 totaled 5,487.40 tons, a decrease of 5.6% compared to the same period in 2025.

In June 2026, exports of unwrought aluminum and aluminum products were 711,000 tons, an increase of 45.4% compared to June 2025. Cumulative exports from January to June 2026 totaled 3.396 million tons, an increase of 16.3% compared to the same period in 2025.

In June 2026, imports of iron ore and concentrates were 112.689 million tons, an increase of 6.4% compared to June 2025. Cumulative imports from January to June 2026 totaled 628.868 million tons, an increase of 6.3% compared to the same period in 2025.

In June 2026, imports of copper ores and concentrates were 2.335 million tons, a decrease of 0.6% compared to June 2025. Cumulative imports from January to June 2026 totaled 14.609 million tons, a decrease of 0.9% compared to the same period in 2025.

In June 2026, imports of coal and lignite were 42.779 million tons, an increase of 29.5% compared to June 2025. Cumulative imports from January to June 2026 totaled 225.4 million tons, an increase of 1.7% compared to the same period in 2025.

In June 2026, rare earth imports reached 6,261.50 tons, a decrease of 25.3% compared to June 2025. Cumulative imports from January to June 2026 totaled 53,886.60 tons, a decrease of 6.1% compared to the same period in 2025.

In June 2026, steel imports reached 441,000 tons, a decrease of 6.2% compared to June 2025. Cumulative imports from January to June 2026 totaled 2.696 million tons, a decrease of 11.3% compared to the same period in 2025.

In June 2026, imports of unwrought copper and copper products were 478,000 tons, an increase of 3% compared to June 2025. Cumulative imports from January to June 2026 totaled 2.491 million tons, a decrease of 5.3% compared to the same period in 2025.