In the first quarter of 2026, my country’s exports of mechanical and electrical products were 4.34 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.3%, accounting for 63.4% of the total export value, and the proportion increased by 3.5 percentage points compared with the same period last year.
Among them, the export of green products such as electric vehicles, lithium batteries, wind turbines and their parts performed particularly well, with year-on-year growth of 77.5%, 50.4% and 45.2% respectively.
Some analysts pointed out that driven by the two-wheel drive of “global market demand” and “domestic industrial policy promotion”, China’s foreign trade has a clear trend towards new, green and smart trade.
From the external environment, the global demand for clean energy and low-carbon products continues to be strong.
Driven by the dual drive of energy security and clean energy transformation, European countries’ demand for energy storage continues to grow, driving China’s lithium battery exports.
From the perspective of domestic factors, my country has formed the most complete industrial chain cluster in the world in the field of green products, has irreplaceable supply capabilities, and has significantly improved its export competitiveness.
“The significant growth in the export of green products such as photovoltaic products and lithium batteries is the result of the acceleration of the global energy transformation process, the consolidation and improvement of my country’s industrial competitiveness, and the expected changes in phased policies.” Shi Yonghong, vice president of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, analyzed that the global green and low-carbon transformation is advancing in depth. After the adjustment of the European energy supply pattern, the demand for new energy construction is rising, the demand for electricity in data centers and other areas continues to grow, and the industrial and commercial energy storage markets in Southeast Asia, Australia and other regions are developing rapidly.
Against this background, in the first quarter, my country’s photovoltaic module exports increased by 22% year-on-year, and lithium battery exports increased by 54.7% year-on-year, making outstanding contributions to export growth.
In addition, the impact of policy expectations cannot be ignored.
Affected by the policy to cancel the export tax rebate for photovoltaic products and the phased reduction of the export tax rebate rate for lithium batteries implemented on April 1, overseas buyers stocked up in advance to avoid the risk of possible price increases. Domestic companies accelerated production and export shipments, which pushed up the export growth rate in the first quarter to a certain extent, forming a short-term surge.
Industry forecasts show that by 2030, the global green energy market will reach US$2.1 trillion.
At present, the penetration rate of the global photovoltaic and energy storage markets is still relatively low, and there is huge potential for future growth.
Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the Passenger Car Market Information Joint Branch of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said that in the medium to long term, my country’s green product exports are still strong and resilient.
Shi Yonghong said that in the medium and long term, the growth of green product exports is sustainable, mainly based on the following four points: First, the global energy transformation trend is irreversible, and the carbon neutrality goals of various countries will continue to stimulate demand for new energy; second, the comprehensive advantages of Chinese enterprises in technology, cost, and production capacity layout are still significant, with photovoltaic cells and lithium batteries
and key production equipment technologies continue to iteratively upgrade; third, Chinese companies are accelerating their global layout, shifting from focusing on product exports to the internationalization of industrial chains, and actively planning or building production bases in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and other places, which will help to respond to trade barriers more flexibly; fourth, the adjustment of export tax rebate policies will promote the optimization of industry structure and promote the transformation of enterprises into high value-added products, thereby enhancing long-term international competitiveness.
However, despite the broad prospects, green product exports still face multiple severe challenges in the process of moving towards high-quality development.
The first is the increasing uncertainty in the international trade environment.
Taking the export of photovoltaic products and lithium batteries as an example, in order to support local industries, European and American countries have successively introduced relevant policies and raised market thresholds through additional tariffs, supply chain due diligence and carbon emission access requirements.
Secondly, green trade barriers are changing from “soft constraints” to “hard thresholds”.
Adjustments to the domestic tax rebate policy have also brought operating pressure to some companies with limited profit margins, and the price decline caused by the periodic supply and demand imbalance within the industry has also affected the R&D investment capabilities of companies to a certain extent.
Faced with these challenges, Chinese manufacturing companies must change their over-reliance on cost and scale advantages, build compliance capabilities into new core competitiveness, and respond to challenges and maintain steady growth in exports through continued technological innovation and in-depth research on the international market.
In the field of electric vehicles, although Chinese car companies have leading advantages in electrification and intelligence, coupled with the continued release of overseas market demand, challenges such as escalating trade barriers, geopolitical risks and intellectual property compliance cannot be ignored.
Looking to the future, accelerating localized production and achieving diversified layout in target markets will be the key path for Chinese car companies to increase their overseas market penetration.
In the process of responding to the above challenges, the practice in some domestic regions has shown that the coordinated efforts of technological innovation and policy services are building a solid “moat” for enterprises to go overseas.
Technological innovation is the confidence for enterprises to break through the waves and go global.
In recent years, Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province has focused on the entire chain of “materials research and development – battery cell design – system integration – scenario verification”, tapping into the global market with multiple scenarios and hard-core technologies.
Relying on Xinwangda Provincial Enterprise Research Institute and Liwei Energy Pilot Platform, the company continues to tackle key technologies such as energy density, cycle life, and safety protection. Lithium battery companies in Jinhua have applied for more than 100 patents.
Hubei Yiwei Power Co., Ltd. has been deeply involved in the lithium battery industry for many years, continuing to carry out technology research and development, polishing high-quality products, improving full-scenario lithium battery solutions, and deepening its global layout.
Products and markets are “hard power”, while supervision and services are “soft environment”.
Jinhua Customs data shows that in the first quarter, Jinhua City’s exports of “three new products” (lithium batteries, photovoltaics, and new energy vehicles) increased by 33.5% year-on-year.
Among them, the export of lithium-ion batteries was 500 million yuan, an increase of 169.3%.
In order to escort enterprises to go overseas, Jinhua City has issued the “High-Quality Development Plan for Smart Photovoltaic and New Energy Storage Industry Chains” and established a “chain leader leadership + department coordination + county and city linkage” mechanism, focusing on elements such as land, funds, and talents.
At the same time, we will implement Zhejiang Province’s green trade policy, encourage enterprises to carry out green certification and “dual carbon” certification; organize enterprises to appear at international solar energy exhibitions and photovoltaic exhibitions, build overseas customer development platforms, and deeply expand the markets of countries along the “Belt and Road”.
According to analysis by industry insiders, overall, China’s green product exports are at a point of “short-term pressure but long-term improvement.”
Faced with rising green trade barriers, companies need to shift from “fighting for cost and scale” to “fighting for technology and compliance,” while the government needs to continue to make efforts in standard certification, market development, and factor guarantees.
Only when the market and policy work together, and technology and compliance advance in parallel, can China’s green products make steady progress in the global low-carbon transformation.
