In the first quarter of 2026, exports of electric vehicles increased by 77.5%, lithium batteries increased by 50.4%, and wind power equipment increased by 45.2%.
The rapid growth of green product exports relies on a comprehensive policy support system from top-level design, foreign trade tools, fiscal and taxation finance to international cooperation.
This is not the result of a single policy, but a combination of punches, which jointly support the explosive growth of green product exports represented by the “New Three” from the four dimensions of legislation, industry, cost, and market access.
In terms of top-level design, green trade policies have been fragmented in the past.
The turning point occurred in October 2025, when the Ministry of Commerce issued the first special policy “Implementation Opinions on Expanding Green Trade”, marking the beginning of systematic advancement.
Then, in March 2026, the “Ecological and Environmental Code of the People’s Republic of China” was officially implemented, upgrading green trade rules from policy guidance to legal regulation, providing the highest level of legal protection.
This constitutes the governance framework of “law + special policies”, which provides the basis and direction for all subsequent specific measures.
In terms of foreign trade tools, the policy has made a set of key “subtractions” and “additions” to the regulation of foreign trade links.
“Subtraction” is to gradually cancel export tax rebates for advantageous industries and force upgrades.
Starting from April 1, 2026, export value-added tax rebates for 249 products such as photovoltaic silicon wafers and components will be completely cancelled; the battery rebate rate will be completely canceled from 6% from April to December 2026 to January 1, 2027.
This “subtraction” seems to increase corporate costs, but in fact it encourages industries that are already globally competitive to abandon “involution” low-price competition and shift to high value-added products, thereby reducing trade friction at the root.
The “addition” is to provide customs clearance convenience and significantly reduce time and capital costs.
AEO certification allows high-level certified companies to enjoy the convenience of low inspection rate and priority customs clearance. China’s AEO has mutual recognition with 32 economies around the world, and goods can also be quickly cleared overseas.
The special service has set up a special application window for new energy vehicles, etc., providing “advance application” and “immediate review”.
Panyu Customs data shows that from January to February 2026, the export value of local new energy vehicle parts increased 31 times year-on-year.
Model innovations such as the linkage of “TIR + Expressway Green Pass” can save companies thousands of yuan in expressway fees in one transportation trip.
In terms of finance, taxation and finance, foreign trade policies alone are not enough. Enterprises need to invest real money in research and development and production of green products.
Fiscal and taxation financial tools directly lower the threshold for companies to “go green” and “go overseas.”
In terms of tax incentives, when an enterprise purchases environmental protection equipment, 10% of the investment can be directly deducted from the tax payable for the year.
For example, a photovoltaic energy storage project in Hebei reduced the total cost by about 15% through this policy.
In terms of green credit, local innovative products such as Sichuan’s “Gong Green Loan” link loan interest rates to corporate environmental performance. After interest discounts for high-quality companies, the annualized interest rate can be as low as 1.9%.
In terms of export credit insurance, the Ministry of Commerce and China Sinosure jointly issued a document to optimize the underwriting model for the export of new energy and environmentally friendly products to provide risk protection for enterprises to expand markets.
In terms of industrial funds, government funds guide social capital to invest in green industries.
For example, the 12 billion yuan Anhui Provincial New Materials Industry Fund directly invests in export-oriented projects such as new energy battery materials.
In terms of market access, the biggest obstacle for green products to go overseas is often green barriers in the international market, such as the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism CBAM.
The focus of the policy is to help enterprises “break through barriers.”
In terms of mutual recognition of certification, my country has signed mutual recognition agreements with many countries on electronic appliances, organic products, etc., and has signed a total of 123 bilateral cooperation and mutual recognition arrangements with foreign countries, benefiting hundreds of billions of dollars in international trade value every year, and avoiding repeated certification.
In terms of building Chinese standards, the world’s first green product label “Green Leaf Label MA” based on international standards will be launched in 2026, directly integrating with EU standards to help companies respond to the global market with a system.
In response to barrier investigations, policies provide tools to fight back when unfair restrictions are encountered.
For example, in March 2026, the Ministry of Commerce announced the launch of a trade barrier investigation into the United States’ related practices that hinder the trade of green products.
Therefore, the rapid growth in exports of green products is essentially an industrial upgrade proactively designed by policies.
It “weans off” tax rebates to force companies to make breakthroughs; it uses facilitation measures and financial support to reduce costs and risks in the process of breakthroughs; and it clears market obstacles through the integration and mutual recognition of international rules.
What was ultimately achieved was not only the growth of export data, but also the structural transformation of China’s foreign trade from “quantitative expansion” to “qualitative leadership”.
