In the first quarter of 2026, China’s foreign trade delivered a stellar report card. The import and export of goods trade reached 11.84 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15%, setting a new quarterly growth rate in the past five years. Both imports and exports surged.
The most certain investment opportunities are hidden in customs data, and tracks such as new energy, high-end manufacturing, and AI infrastructure are directly at the forefront.
First look at how impressive this report card is: exports reached 6.85 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.9%, and imports reached 4.99 trillion yuan, soaring by 19.6%. The growth rate of imports directly exceeded exports by 7.7 percentage points.
Whether it is the “volume and price increase” of exports or the “structural optimization” of imports, they have given the market reassurance.
The General Administration of Customs has made it clear that this is a reflection of the stable foundation, vitality and strong momentum of foreign trade. The breakdown of data in this report card is a “treasure map” for finding investment targets. Behind every high-growth figure are real industrial dividends.
The Three Musketeers of New Energy Dominate the Screen!
Exports are growing at an unbelievable rate, and leading companies are winning.
The most explosive sector in this foreign trade data is none other than new energy, which can be called a “money printing machine” level performance.
In the first quarter, exports of electric vehicles increased by 77.5%, lithium battery exports increased by 50.4%, and wind turbine sets and parts increased by 45.2%. These three figures are the inevitable result of China’s new energy industry from “exporting products overseas” to “exporting industries overseas.”
In the first quarter, 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, an increase of 3.5 percentage points from the same period last year. New energy is a proper “ballast stone” for exports, and new energy is one of the core growth engines.
From a target perspective, BYD, the leader in electric vehicles, saw overseas new energy vehicle sales surge by 150% year-on-year in the first quarter. Models such as Seal and Dolphin are hot-selling globally. Factories in Brazil and Hungary will be put into production in the second half of the year to achieve localized production and completely avoid trade barriers.
BYD has vertically integrated the industrial chain and is fully self-sufficient in batteries, motors, and electronic controls. Its gross profit margin exceeds 25%. Externally supplied batteries have also entered the supply chains of Tesla and Toyota. The vehicle + battery two-wheel drive has continued to increase its global market share.
Lithium battery leader CATL is well-deserved to be the global leader in lithium batteries. In the first quarter, the production schedule of power batteries and energy storage batteries increased by 25% month-on-month, and the production capacity utilization rate exceeded 90%. The production capacity of factories in Europe and Thailand has climbed, and overseas revenue accounted for more than 40%.
Energy storage battery orders have increased by 120% year-on-year, and large-scale supply agreements with Volkswagen and BMW have been renewed. The research and development of solid-state batteries and sodium-ion batteries have continued to make breakthroughs. The entire industrial chain layout has locked lithium resources, and the cost advantage is unrivaled.
Wind power equipment leader Goldwind Technology/Mingyang Intelligent, the global demand for wind power has exploded, and my country’s wind turbine exports have grown at a rate of 45.2%. These two leaders account for half of the domestic wind power equipment market. Technically, they have the core advantage of large-megawatt units. They have in-depth overseas market layout, and orders continue to be placed in Europe and Southeast Asia. As an important component of new energy installations, wind power is an important component of new energy installations. Demand will only increase in the next few years, and performance growth is certain.
High-end manufacturing is facing the wind!
3D printing has doubled in growth, and equipment manufacturing has become a new engine.
If new energy is the “popular hot chicken”, then high-end manufacturing is the “potential stock”.
In the foreign trade data for the first quarter, the growth rate of high-end manufacturing directly refreshes the understanding. Behind it is the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, and it is also the urgent need to drive the development of the global artificial intelligence industry.
The most eye-catching thing is that the export of 3D printers increased by 119% year-on-year, doubling directly!
In addition, the export of digital cameras increased by 32.7%, the export of computer communications manufacturing, railway and shipbuilding and other transportation equipment increased by more than 20%, and the overall export of the equipment manufacturing industry was 4.25 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.2%, accounting for more than 60% of the total export value. This shows that “Made in China” has shifted from low-end processing to high-end intelligent manufacturing, and its gold content is getting higher and higher.
The 3D printing track focuses on Chuangxiang 3D and Obi Zhongguang.
Chuangxiang 3D has the second largest market share of global consumer 3D printers and is also the world’s largest 3D scanner supplier. Its products cover more than 140 countries and regions. The core is to fully integrate AI technology into the entire 3D printing process. Intelligent modeling and automatic calibration build technical barriers. The compound annual growth rate of revenue from 2023 to 2025 is nearly 30%. It is now sprinting towards the Hong Kong IPO and will further expand overseas markets after raising funds.
As a core company in 3D visual perception, Aobi Zhongguang is a supplier of core accessories for 3D printing and robots. In the first three quarters of 2025, its net profit turned a profit, and its operating income increased by 103.5% year-on-year. In the fields of 3D scanning and robot perception, it has cooperated with leaders such as Purdue Technology and UBTECH.
There are also digital cameras, communication equipment and other sectors. Pay attention to leaders such as Luxshare Precision and Goertek. They rely on China’s complete electronic industry supporting system and their global market share continues to increase. The high export growth in the first quarter is just a microcosm of their performance. The full-year growth is worth looking forward to.
AI infrastructure + commodities!
Import data revealed the mystery, and these sectors followed suit.
In the first quarter, imports increased by 19.6% to 4.99 trillion yuan, setting a record high for the same period in history. The optimization of the import structure directly points to two high-certainty tracks: AI infrastructure and bulk commodities.
The import of high-tech products increased by 25.1% year-on-year, of which the import of integrated circuits increased by 45% and automatic data processing equipment increased by 49.5%. This shows that domestic AI infrastructure is accelerating and the demand for core links such as computing power and chips has skyrocketed.
The AI infrastructure track focuses on domestic computing chips (Sugon, Cambrian), data centers (Baoxin Software, Sinnet), and energy storage equipment (Sungrow).
The total import volume of energy products and metal ores increased by 9.4%, the unit price of copper ore imports increased by 39% year-on-year, and unwrought copper increased by 29.4%. Behind this is the acceleration of domestic industrial production, the surge in demand for raw materials, and geopolitical conflicts that have led to high commodity prices. The AI infrastructure boom has further pushed up the demand for strategic resources such as copper, lithium, and cobalt.
Commodity-related targets focus on Jiangxi Copper (the leader in copper mines) and Luoyang Molybdenum (the leader in global mineral resources).
In addition, the import of consumer goods increased by 5.4%. The long Spring Festival holiday drove the recovery of consumption. The growth of imported consumer goods shows that domestic consumer demand is steadily expanding. Pay attention to cross-border e-commerce (Oriental Selection, Suning.com) and high-end consumer sectors.
Foreign trade dividends continue to be released!
Grasp the two core logics and avoid risks.
The dividends of foreign trade will continue to be released in 2026. The core logic is that global demand is recovering + China’s advantages in the entire industrial chain. Global monetary and fiscal easing will boost overseas demand as a whole. China has the most complete industrial supporting system that can meet global needs at different levels. The quality and efficiency of “Made in China” will continue to improve, and the competitive advantages and resilience of the entire industrial chain will become more and more obvious.
The second core logic is policy support + openness dividend. The country has clearly proposed to “actively expand imports and promote balanced trade development.” From May 1, it will fully implement zero tariffs for 53 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China and continue to expand independent opening up. This will not only drive import growth, but also further promote the diversification of exports, especially exports to countries along the “Belt and Road”.
Of course, investment cannot ignore risks. The General Administration of Customs reminds that there are still many external uncertainties, the growth rate of global commodity trade may slow down, and the impact of geopolitical conflicts on industrial and supply chains is still evolving. Therefore, when planning, try to choose industry leaders and avoid small-market concept stocks. Leading companies have performance support and are more resistant to risks.
Foreign trade in the first quarter of 2026 is off to a good start, with a turnover of 11.84 trillion yuan. Behind it is the strong resilience of the Chinese economy and clear investment directions: new energy (electric vehicles, lithium batteries, wind power), high-end manufacturing (3D printing, communication equipment), AI infrastructure (computing power, energy storage), and commodities (copper, minerals). These four major tracks are the most certain investment opportunities this year, and each has data support, performance support, and policy support.
From the perspective of targets, the top leaders in each track are selected: BYD, CATL, Goldwind Technology, Chuangxiang 3D, OBI Zhongguang, Sungrow, and Jiangxi Copper. Relying on the dividends of China’s foreign trade, these companies have continued to increase their global market share and their performance growth is tangible.
Foreign trade data is a “barometer” of the economy and a “vane” of investment. The high growth in the first quarter has set the tone for the whole year. Follow the dividends of foreign trade and choose the right track and the right leader. Eating meat while lying down in 2026 is no longer a dream!
Finally, I would like to remind everyone that investment is risky and you need to be cautious in your layout. However, in the face of deterministic trends, only by taking decisive action can you seize opportunities.
