In the first quarter of 2026, the national economy achieved a solid start of 5%, and foreign trade also increased by 15% year-on-year.
Exploring various provinces, many places are catching up and catching up, and bright spots appear frequently.
Among them, the growth rates of Anhui, Henan, and Shanghai all exceeded 20%. The growth rate of Anhui, which was just promoted to the “Trillion Club” last year, reached 31%.
In addition, the growth rate of Guangdong and Jiangsu, the two major foreign trade leaders that account for 1/3 of the country’s share, has also exceeded the national growth rate and has become an important ballast for the country’s foreign trade overall situation.
Anhui’s import and export surged by 31%: automobile exports doubled, firmly ranking first on the list
Following Anhui’s achievement of unlocking “the first trillion-dollar foreign trade province in central China” last year, Anhui’s foreign trade continued to surge in the first quarter of this year.
In the first quarter, Anhui’s total import and export value reached 284.24 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.6%. The growth rate hit a record high for the same period in history since 2022. Exports were 194.8 billion yuan and imports were 89.44 billion yuan, an increase of 31.8% and 31% respectively. Imports and exports increased simultaneously, demonstrating strong development resilience.
The export performance of high-tech products was outstanding. In the first quarter, exports were 51.56 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 52.9%, accounting for 26.5% of the province’s total export value, demonstrating the remarkable results of the industry’s transformation to high value-added.
Among them, automobile exports have become the core growth engine.
Relying on the advantages of the new energy vehicle industry cluster, Anhui exported 437,000 vehicles (including chassis) in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 118.8%, and the export value reached 45.08 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 120.1%. Both export volume and export value ranked first in the country.
Since Anhui’s automobile export surpassed Shanghai in 2024 and became the first in the country for the first time, it has firmly ranked first. In 2025, it exceeded one million vehicles (reaching 1.228 million vehicles), forming a strong industry-driving effect.
In terms of imports, driven by industrial upgrading and holiday consumption, the import of mechanical and electrical products increased by 22.2%, and the import of alcohol, clothing, shoes and hats increased by 95% and 19% respectively. The expansion of domestic demand and industrial demand formed a synergy to promote the steady growth of imports.
The top three trading partners are the European Union, ASEAN and Hong Kong, China.
Among them, imports and exports to Latin America and Africa increased by 40.9% and 56.3% respectively, reaching a record high for the same period in history. The rapid growth of emerging markets effectively made up for the impact of fluctuations in traditional markets.
Henan’s import and export surged 28.7% year-on-year, and imports soared 64.8%
Henan, another large province in central China, also performed well in foreign trade in the first quarter.
The province’s total import and export value reached 263.15 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.7%, 13.7 percentage points higher than the national average growth rate, setting a record for the same period in history.
Among them, exports were 155.11 billion yuan, an increase of 11.7%, and imports were 108.04 billion yuan, a surge of 64.8%.
The “surge” growth of imports.
The core behind this is that the province’s manufacturing industry is expanding and upgrading, and companies are intensively purchasing raw materials and production equipment. This also shows that Henan’s foreign trade is changing from “only processing and exporting” to “independent manufacturing + exporting”, and the industrial chain is more complete.
From the data point of view, imported goods required for production accounted for the vast majority: the import of mechanical and electrical products increased by 97%, of which the import of automatic data processing equipment and parts increased by 9.5 times, and the import of unforged aluminum increased by 3.3 times, directly supporting the
Electronic information, high-end manufacturing and other industries expanded production; imports of metal ores, agricultural products, and wig materials also increased by 33.9%, 17.6%, and 26.3% respectively. Among them, the import volume of three commodities, including silver ore and wig materials, ranked first in the country.
As emerging industries such as new energy and electronic information take root in Henan, companies have an increasing demand for upstream core components and raw materials. Coupled with the completion of early inventory digestion, a virtuous cycle of “production expansion – increased demand – rising imports” has been formed.
Compared with the “surge” of imports, the 11.7% growth rate of exports is moderate, but solid enough. The core depends on the development of emerging industries, the upgrading of export commodities and the expansion of overseas markets.
In the first quarter, Henan’s exports of “three new items”—electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products—performed particularly well, with a total export of 13.07 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.2 times. Among them, electric vehicles exported 11.95 billion yuan, an increase of 1.1 times, becoming the “main force” driving exports.
New energy vehicle companies in Zhengzhou, Xuchang and other places continue to release their production capacity. Leading companies such as BYD and Yutong are taking “Yuche” to the world. The monthly sales of BYD produced in Zhengzhou in the UK exceeded 10,000 vehicles for the first time. SAIC’s Zhengzhou base has also become SAIC’s largest export vehicle base, forming a good momentum of “the export of complete vehicles drives the export of parts overseas.”
Shanghai grew by 21.9%: exports of the new three items increased by more than 1.2 times, and imports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment increased by 36.3%
In the first quarter, Shanghai’s imports and exports
The total value of exports reached 1.23 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21.9%, achieving record highs in both quarters and months. Exports were 537.37 billion yuan, and imports were 690.03 billion yuan, an increase of 16.3% and 26.6% respectively, showing a balanced trend of “export quality improvement and import expansion”.
High-end equipment and green products have become the core driving force for exports.
Relying on its strong manufacturing foundation, Shanghai’s “three new” products continue to lead the export market. In the first quarter, exports of electric passenger vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar cells increased by more than 1.2 times, of which lithium battery exports reached 15.26 billion yuan, nearly doubling, forming a “chain overseas” pattern from power generation, transmission and distribution to storage.
At the same time, ships and offshore engineering equipment and ship-to-shore cranes seized the global delivery peak, with surges of 54.7% and 98.5% respectively. The world’s largest 24,000 TEU dual-fuel powered container ship exported by Hudong-Zhonghua set a record for the highest value of similar export products in my country. The export of industrial robots, surgical robots and other intelligent equipment also doubled, demonstrating the hard power of “Shanghai Intelligent Manufacturing”.
In terms of imports, the import value of Shanghai’s semiconductor manufacturing equipment and CNC machine tools increased by 36.3% and 25% respectively in the first quarter.
The import value of edible oil, aquatic products, and alcoholic beverages all increased by more than double digits, and the import value of specialty fruits such as durian, coconut, and avocado increased exponentially.
The diversified market layout further enhances the ability to resist risks.
Shanghai has not only consolidated its advantages in developed markets such as the European Union, Japan, and South Korea, and its total import and export to these markets increased by more than 30% in the first quarter; it has also actively expanded into emerging markets, with imports and exports to ASEAN, Latin America, and Africa increasing by 16.4%, 16.9%, and 23.5% respectively. It has achieved import and export growth with 126 countries and regions. The number of members of the foreign trade “Ten Billion Club” has increased to 29, effectively hedging the impact of fluctuations in a single market.
