In Numbers: China's foreign trade maintains rapid growth in first eight months

China's foreign trade maintained swift growth in the first eight months of 2026, with both exports and imports posting solid gains, and import growth continuing to outpace exports, official data showed. The country's total goods imports and exports rose 17.6 percent year on year to 34.78 trillion yuan (about 5.13 trillion U.S. dollars) in the January-August period, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Exports increased 14.6 percent year on year to 20.17 trillion yuan, while imports expanded by 22 percent to 14.61 trillion yuan, the data revealed. China's total goods imports and exports expanded 17.6% year on year to 34.78 trillion yuan (about $5.13 trillion) in the first eight months of 2026.