In the first quarter of 2026, the foreign trade report cards of major cities across the country will be released one after another.
While people are still discussing the performance of traditional strong foreign trade cities such as Shenzhen, Suzhou and Ningbo, a western city stands out.
Xi’an’s import and export reached 181.922 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 74.24%!
Exports reached 141.606 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 95.91%!
This report card can be called an “explosion”, not only breaking the single-quarter growth record of Xi’an’s foreign trade, but also leading the country’s major cities.
In the report card of foreign trade cities in the first quarter, the export growth rate of 95.91% is an astonishing figure.
You know, the national export growth rate in the first quarter was only 11.9%.
Compared with other cities such as Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Suzhou, Xi’an is also leading the way.
If the timeline is extended, this high growth trend is no accident.
In the past three years, the average annual growth rate of Xi’an’s foreign trade has remained above 14%, demonstrating strong resilience.
After looking at the growth rate and then looking at the structure, it can better reveal its inherent health and competitiveness.
Of Xi’an’s 181.922 billion yuan in imports and exports, exports accounted for 77.7%, with a growth rate of 95.91%.
The surplus reached 101.09 billion yuan, accounting for 55.6% of the total import and export value, making it one of the cities with the highest contribution to foreign trade surplus in the country.
Unlike some foreign trade cities that “rely on imports to expand their scale”, Xi’an’s foreign trade growth is driven by exports and is more valuable.
This structure means that growth comes more from the export of end products to overseas markets rather than from the accumulation of imported resources and intermediate goods, which will more directly boost local industrial output, tax revenue and employment.
The export-driven growth model means that every increase in foreign trade can be more directly and effectively transformed into local GDP, tax revenue and employment.
More of the wealth created by exports is deposited locally and used for reinvestment, research and development, and consumption, forming a virtuous cycle of “export growth-industrial upgrading-economic improvement.”
Why did Xi’an’s foreign trade perform so well in the first quarter of this year?
First, make good products.
Products are the core competitiveness of foreign trade.
In the first quarter, which export products drove the growth of Xi’an’s foreign trade?
We refer to the data of the first two months – the export of mechanical and electrical products was 82.04 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 97.5%, accounting for 93.4% of Xi’an’s total export value.
Among them, the exports of integrated circuits, automatic data processing equipment and their parts, and electrical equipment were 46.28 billion yuan, 15.69 billion yuan, and 2.12 billion yuan respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 140.7%, 205.1%, and 59% respectively.
Specifically, Xi’an’s export structure is dominated by mechanical and electrical products, of which integrated circuits account for the majority, with a growth rate of an astonishing 140.7%.
That’s right, Xi’an has stepped into the AI hotspot.
Xi’an is home to two giants, Samsung and Micron. The former is Samsung’s largest overseas flash memory base in the world, and the latter is Micron’s only large-scale packaging and testing base in the world.
In addition, Xi’an’s semiconductor industry has gathered more than 200 companies, forming a full chain covering front-end materials, terminal manufacturing, key components, packaging and testing, and back-end applications.
Recently, the share price of Yuanjie Technology, a leading optical chip company, once surpassed Kweichow Moutai and became the new A-share king.
Yuanjie Technology is a Xi’an company. Its revenue growth in the first quarter of 2026 is expected to exceed 200%, making it a representative of Xi’an’s semiconductor industry.
In addition, Xi’an’s “three new things” (lithium batteries, new energy vehicles, photovoltaic modules), electrical equipment, and communication equipment are also new forces in the growth of foreign trade.
Second, expand the market.
If you create a good product, you must be able to sell it.
The market is the lifeline of foreign trade.
Traditional foreign trade cities often rely on European and American markets, while Xi’an has opened up a diversified market territory.
Judging from the data in the first two months, Xi’an’s imports and exports to South Korea, ASEAN, the European Union, and Malaysia were 23.69 billion yuan, 21.17 billion yuan, 10.6 billion yuan, and 13.07 billion yuan respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 140.6%, 71.9%, 39.6%, and 103.7% respectively.
Xi’an’s imports and exports to countries co-building the “Belt and Road” were 61.75 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 77.4%, accounting for 54.3% of Xi’an’s total import and export value; its imports and exports to other RCEP member states were 49.38 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 85.7%, accounting for 43.4% of Xi’an’s total import and export value.
This diversified market layout effectively disperses foreign trade risks and has strong anti-cyclical capabilities.
Third, clear channels.
The product is built, the market is opened, and finally it needs to be shipped quickly and economically.
Channels are the accelerator of foreign trade.
The opening of the China-Europe freight train has opened a channel for Xi’an to go global.
Data show that in the first two months of this year, a total of 1,037 China-Europe freight trains (Xi’an) operated, transporting 98,000 TEUs of goods, a year-on-year increase of 33.6% and 21.6% respectively.
At present, Xi’an International Port Station has realized the stable operation of three full-timetable train lines from Xi’an to Duisburg, Germany, Prague, Czech Republic, and Budapest, Hungary, “six to three times a week”. It is the station with the most full-timetable train lines in the country and the highest density.
Statistics show that the “passenger car-based” operation time of China-Europe trains is accurate to the hour, the cost of cross-border e-commerce transportation is less than one-fifth of air transportation, and the timeliness is increased by 30%.
The linkage of air and land dual hubs has significantly reduced logistics costs and improved customs clearance efficiency, providing solid channel support for the growth of foreign trade.
In summary, for the growth of Xi’an’s foreign trade, producing good products is the foundation, opening up a broad market is the key, and smooth channels are the guarantee.
Xi’an has proven with tangible results that inland cities can achieve “acceleration” in foreign trade without being close to the sea or border.
The stage for China’s opening up is infinitely broad, and other cities should also work hard!
