China’s foreign trade data in the first quarter showed strong performance, and the foreign trade export situation of small, medium and micro enterprises has attracted much attention.
On April 16, relevant agencies released the “National Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises B2B Goods Export Trade Purchasing Managers Index” (XTransfer PMI) report at the 139th China Import and Export Fair to provide decision-making reference for small, medium and micro foreign trade enterprises.
This issue of XTransfer PMI is based on a sample survey of 800,000 small, medium and micro foreign trade companies on the platform, and selected more than 3,000 company samples, involving the complete process of foreign trade exports such as export orders, prices, and procurement.
The report shows that the XTransfer PMI index in March 2026 was 51.56%, indicating that the export situation of small, medium and micro foreign trade companies is basically improving, maintaining resilience in the complex external environment, the pricing power of the international market has steadily increased, the demand structure of emerging markets has been reshaped, and the focus of exports has shifted to “intermediate products and high-end products”.
From the overall performance, the current foreign trade operation has shown obvious differentiation.
First, exports showed “both volume and price”, and bargaining power increased.
The overall export order index and product export price index of enterprises “double increase”, getting rid of low value-added price competition, and the focus of competition shifts to comprehensive capabilities.
Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that my country’s exports of mechanical and electrical products increased significantly in the first two months of 2026, indicating that support for foreign trade growth is concentrated in products with high technical content and that Chinese companies have an enhanced say in global pricing.
The second is that “goods move slowly but money is returned quickly”, and the financial resilience of enterprises exceeds expectations.
In 2026, the logistics time index of export products of sample enterprises will decrease, and the sales collection index will increase. The financial stability of enterprises in a complex environment is better than expected.
This is due to the stickiness of overseas purchasers to China’s supply chain, the application of cross-border e-commerce and the “overseas warehouse” model, and the convenience of cross-border capital settlement channels.
The third is to “quickly digest inventory and respond quickly to orders” to cope with uncertainty with speed.
The export product inventory index of the sample companies decreased, the employee index expanded, and some companies advanced to the “quick response mode”.
In terms of industry structure, the structure of my country’s export products has been deeply adjusted.
The “Three New Things” remain in a high-prosperity range, but the logistics time index of new energy vehicles has fallen sharply; traditional advantageous industries have increased their added value through product iteration and model innovation; the basic raw material industry is facing downward pressure and needs to break through to “deep processing” and “green and low carbon”; industries with high technological barriers rely on core technologies to ensure high-quality cash flow.
In the regional market, my country’s foreign trade companies have diversified their layout by “stabilizing traditional old markets such as Europe and the United States” and “exploiting emerging incremental new markets.”
The European and American markets are highly dependent on my country’s high value-added industrial manufactured products, but international logistics is limited; emerging markets such as Latin America, Africa, BRICS, and ASEAN continue to unleash their growth potential.
However, foreign trade also faces some challenges.
The obstruction of international logistics has significantly pushed up the operating costs of enterprises. Affected by various factors, logistics efficiency has declined, which has increased the cost of capital occupation and shipping costs of enterprises; some traditional high-energy-consuming industries are facing shrinkage pressure, and under the trend of green and low-carbon transformation, the external market space has been squeezed; demand in some developed economies, such as Japan and the United Kingdom, has shown weak characteristics, and foreign trade companies need to strengthen country risk assessments.
