Under the current foreign trade situation, investors can focus on three major categories of new foreign trade productivity tracks to provide new directions for investment decisions.
The first category is the ‘new, green and smart’ subdivisions focused on by the Canton Fair.
The nine newly added ‘new, green and smart’ zones at this Canton Fair are like a clear purchasing list.
These special areas cover consumer drones, smart wearables, display technology, bamboo and wood furniture, functional technology fabrics, etc., accurately meeting the global demand for low-carbon life and smart technology.
About 670 companies participated in these new areas, with more than 1,300 booths, and the number of overseas purchasers attending the fair reached 167,000, a year-on-year increase of 5.9%.
Behind this lively exhibition are real orders.
Some companies’ Internet of Things thermostat products are expected to grow by 150%, and Sany Heavy Industry’s electric excavators have grown by more than 50% in the European market.
Industry experts judge that in the next 3 to 5 years, the low-altitude economy, humanoid robots, and energy storage industries will become new growth points for foreign trade.
The second category is new foreign trade formats, including cross-border e-commerce and green trade.
The state’s support for new foreign trade formats is extremely strong, which is “real money” plus “system convenience”.
In terms of cross-border e-commerce, there are 178 comprehensive pilot zones across the country, covering all provinces.
Enterprises enjoy “tax refund upon departure”. If the returned goods are returned to the country in their original condition within 6 months, they will be exempted from import tax.
In 2025, there will be more than 120,000 cross-border e-commerce companies nationwide, with a total import and export volume of 2.75 trillion yuan, an increase of 69.7% over 2020.
In terms of green trade, the “15th Five-Year Plan” clearly optimizes export tax rebates for green products and establishes incentive tools such as green taxation and credit.
This directly promoted the impressive growth figures of electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and wind turbine exports in the first quarter of 77.5%, 50.4%, and 45.2% respectively.
The third category is the ‘three new things’ (electric passenger vehicles, lithium batteries, solar cells) and their upstream and downstream industrial chains.
‘New Three Things’ has changed from a growth point to a ‘ballast stone’ for foreign trade. Its investment opportunities lie not only in complete vehicles or complete machines, but also in a complete and leading global industrial chain.
In the field of electric passenger vehicles, China has ranked first in global production and sales for 10 consecutive years, with production and sales exceeding 12.8 million units in 2024.
The export growth engine is strong, with a growth rate of 77.5% in the first quarter, and it has successfully entered the high-end market. The average price of Chinese electric vehicles in the European market has reached 48,000 euros.
In March 2026, the leader BYD’s exports accounted for 33.5% of the country’s total new energy vehicle exports.
In the field of lithium batteries, CATL, the global leader in power batteries, has a market share of over 37%. Its advantage lies in the layout of the entire industry chain from lithium mining to recycling.
Although the export unit price will drop from US$27,300/ton in 2023 to US$15,300/ton in 2026, exports will still surge by 46% in the first two months of 2026 by exploring new areas such as energy storage.
Exports of energy storage batteries surged by 115.9%, becoming a new driving force.
In the field of solar cells, although the export volume has fluctuated due to price wars in recent years, the absolute leading position in the global market share has not changed.
Investment should focus on technology iterations, such as N-type battery (TOPCon/HJT) equipment suppliers, and photovoltaic + energy storage integrated solution providers.
These tracks don’t appear out of thin air.
First, the global energy transformation and industrial upgrading have created a deterministic demand gap; second, China has established full-chain advantages in related fields from technology, manufacturing to cost; third, domestic policies and the “15th Five-Year Plan” have formed systematic support.
Investors’ focus should shift from single product exports to leading companies with technical barriers, brand overseas capabilities, or providing system solutions.
