Guangdong's foreign trade up 22.1% in first two months of 2026, reaching record high for the period

In the first two months of 2026, Guangdong's total imports and exports reached 1.64 trillion yuan, marking a record high for the same period in history and representing a 22.1% year-on-year increase.

Both exports and imports posted strong growth, each expanding by more than 20 percent. Exports totaled 1.04 trillion yuan, up 22.6%, while imports reached 592.01 billion yuan, up 21.3%.

During the period, Guangdong accounted for 21.2% of China's total foreign trade, an increase of 0.7 percentage points from the same period last year. The province contributed 24.7% to the growth of China's overall foreign trade, ranking first in the country.

High-tech and green products delivered strong export performance. In the first two months, Guangdong exported 718.91 billion yuan of mechanical and electrical products, up 25.9%, accounting for 68.8% of the province's total exports. Among high-tech products, exports of industrial robots, drones, CNC machine tools, and 3D printers increased by 32.3%, 66.7%, 78.5%, and 172.3%, respectively. Exports of wind turbine units and the so-called "new three" (electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and solar cells) green products grew by 38.6% and 54.6%, respectively.

Photo: Guangdong Sub-administration of GACC

Guangdong's trade partners also became increasingly diversified. In the first two months, ASEAN, Hong Kong SAR, and the European Union were the province's top three trading partners, with trade growing 18%, 36.9%, and 23.1%, respectively. Trade with the United States rose 1%, while trade with Taiwan Province of China increased 6.9%. Meanwhile, Guangdong maintained rapid growth in trade with emerging markets. Trade with Latin America, the Middle East, the five Central Asian countries, and Africa rose 15.7%, 24.8%, 25.3%, and 41.8%, respectively.

Among them, private enterprises played a leading role, with imports and exports totaling 1.09 trillion yuan, up 29.2%, raising their share of Guangdong's total foreign trade by 3.6 percentage points to 66.8%. Foreign-invested enterprises recorded imports and exports of 478.43 billion yuan, representing a 12.8% increase.