（来源：CGTN，2026-04-15）

China's foreign trade volume hit a record high in the first quarter of this year. Officials say growth will continue, despite global uncertainty. Sun Ye has more.

China's foreign trade volume hit a record high in the first quarter of 2026. Chinese officials said imports and exports during the period reached 11.84 trillion yuan (about 1.73 trillion US dollars), marking the highest quarterly growth rate in the past five years. Growth was robust across the board.

WANG JUN Deputy Head, General Administration of Customs “Foreign trade entities registered strong growth in imports and exports. China's trading partners have become more diverse. In Q1, China's trade with BRI partner countries totaled 6.06 trillion yuan, up 14.2% from a year ago, accounting for 51.2% of China's total import and export value. New growth drivers continued to boost exports. And expanding domestic demand stimulated imports.”

The big question is whether this momentum can be sustained and withstand turbulence in the global economy, including ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Chinese officials said their own statistics show that in March, China's imports and exports with the Middle East declined. Experts remain sanguine about China's trade outlook.

 

TU XINQUAN Director, China Inst. for World Trade Organization Studies University of International Business and Economics “Overall, the impact of the Iran war on China's economy is relatively small compared with other countries, because China's energy supply is stable, especially given the rapid development of green energy in recent years. Overall, I think the outlook for China's foreign trade in the near term remains relatively optimistic, because China's economy is comparatively stable. There is a lot of uncertainty from external shocks, but I believe China, relying on its complete industrial chain and its large market size, provides the world with a significant degree of certainty.”

SUN YE Beijing “Chinese officials said their own survey on trade sentiment shows a clear increase in the number of enterprises reporting growth in new export and import orders. They said they have both the confidence and the capability to promote stable growth in both the scale and the structure of foreign trade. SY, CGTN, BJ.”

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