Exports grew by ۳۶.۳ percent in September, the biggest leap since the COVID-۱۹ pandemic.
Published On ۱۴ Oct ۲۰۲۶
China’s exports surged by more than one-third in September, a boost to the world’s second-largest economy as it faces slowing growth.
Exports grew by ۳۶.۳ percent last month year-on-year to reach $۴۴۷.۱۸bn, accelerating from a ۲۵ percent gain in August, government figures released on Wednesday show.
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The leap marked the biggest monthly rise in exports since ۲۰۲۱, when China’s trade figures were skewed by the effects of the COVID-۱۹ pandemic and stringent lockdowns.
Tech-related trade led the growth, with semiconductor exports surging more than ۱۰۸ percent and shipments of automatic data processing machines jumping nearly ۵۵ percent.
Imports increased ۳۱ percent year-on-year, up from ۲۸.۲ percent in August, according to the figures from the General Administration of Customs.
“High-tech demand, supported by the global and domestic AI upcycle, remained the key driver, while China’s pricing and supply-chain competitiveness in other major export categories also helped sustain the momentum,” Taylor Wang, an economist at HSBC in Hong Kong, said in a note to clients.
China’s total exports in the first nine months of the year rose ۲۱.۳ percent to $۳.۳۷ trillion, while imports gained ۲۷.۵ percent to $۲.۴۳ trillion.
The gap between exports and imports in the first three quarters gave China a trade surplus of $۹۳۸.۱bn.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was China’s biggest export market by a wide margin, with exports rising more than ۵۲ percent in September to $۸۱.۷bn.
Exports to the European Union rose ۲۵.۳ percent in September to $۶۰.۱۵bn, while shipments to the United States jumped ۳۹.۶ percent to $۴۷.۸۸bn.
After decades of relying on state-led investment and exports to power its economy, China is striving to find new avenues for growth amid a falling population, deflating property market, and weak domestic consumption, which contributes far less to gross domestic product (GDP) than in advanced economies.
China’s economy is expected to grow ۴.۵ percent in ۲۰۲۶, according to the International Monetary Fund’s latest growth outlook, which would be the slowest expansion since ۱۹۹۰, excluding the outlier years of the COVID pandemic.
“The strong export growth should keep China’s growth on track to achieve its growth target of ۴.۵-۵ percent for ۲۰۲۶,” Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING, told Al Jazeera.
“Nonetheless, growth remains quite unbalanced, with domestic data quite soft in comparison,” Song said.
“It will be important to rebalance growth over the medium term if China is to achieve its longterm growth targets.”
