View of a container vessel near Qingdao port in East China's Shandong Province on April 7, 2026 Photo: VCG

China's major coastal foreign trade provinces have released strong trade data for the first four months of this year, pointing to sustained growth momentum - a trend indicates the resilience of the country's foreign trade and its solid economic fundamentals.

China's foreign trade has kept gaining pace since the beginning of the year, with imports and exports rising 14.2 percent year-on-year in April despite a complex external environment.

East China's Jiangsu Province saw foreign trade grow to 2.2 trillion yuan ($305 billion) in the January-April period, up 19 percent year-on-year, 4.1 percentage points higher than the national average, according to Xinhua Daily, citing Nanjing Customs.

In April alone, Jiangsu's foreign trade exceeded 600 billion yuan for the first time, up 23.7 percent from a year earlier. Exports rose 20 percent, while imports jumped 31.1 percent.

Neighboring Zhejiang Province saw foreign trade reach 1.86 trillion yuan in the first four months, up 6.7 percent year-on-year. Exports increased 6.5 percent and imports rose 7.4 percent, with both exports and imports hitting record highs for the period, Zhejiang Daily reported on Thursday, citing Hangzhou Customs.

South China's Guangdong Province also showed strong growth. Its foreign trade totaled 3.49 trillion yuan in the January-April period, up 18.4 percent year-on-year. Exports rose 11.4 percent, while imports surged 30.1 percent, China News Service reported on Wednesday.

The same momentum was also seen in Southeast China's Fujian Province, where foreign trade rose 7.9 percent year-on-year in the first four months, the fastest pace for the same period since 2023, Fuzhou Daily reported, citing local customs. Imports expanded by nearly 20 percent.

The data reflect China's capacity to keep foreign trade stable amid external uncertainties, while showing the ability of key manufacturing provinces to withstand pressure from outside shocks, Chinese analysts said.

The faster import growth seen in the coastal provinces pointed to firm domestic demand and the vitality of industrial activity, they noted.

The coastal provinces remain central to stabilizing China's overall trade. Last year, seven provincial-level regions, including Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian, contributed more than half of the country's total foreign trade growth, according to the People's Daily.

A notable feature of the latest data is the rapid expansion of trade with emerging markets.

In the first four months, Jiangsu's trade with Belt and Road partner countries rose 26.2 percent to 1.15 trillion yuan, contributing 12.9 percentage points to the province's overall trade growth. Zhejiang's trade with Belt and Road countries increased 6.7 percent year-on-year, while its trade with Africa rose 16 percent.

Guangdong maintained double-digit trade growth with the ASEAN, while its trade with the five Central Asian countries, Africa and India all expanded faster than the province's overall trade growth.

Fujian showed the same trend, with trade with Latin America rising 18 percent and trade with Africa up 28.6 percent in the January-April period.

The growth with Africa is particularly notable, reflecting deepening bilateral economic and trade ties, analysts said. 

From May 1, China expanded its zero-tariff treatment for two years to cover all 53 African countries that have set up diplomatic ties, with experts saying the country's vast market is creating new development opportunities for Africa and opening broader space for future trade exchanges.

Trade with traditional partners also remained resilient. Jiangsu's trade with the EU rose 20.6 percent year-on-year in the first four months. Guangdong's trade with the EU posted double-digit growth this year, while its trade with Australia surged 51.4 percent.

The export mix of these provinces is also moving further toward higher technology, higher value-added and greener products.

Zhejiang's exports of the "new three" products - electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar panels - jumped by more than 50 percent. In Jiangsu, mechanical and electronic products accounted for three-quarters of total exports, while Guangdong saw rapid growth in high-tech exports including drones. Fujian's exports were supported by computers, ships and automobiles.

The data shows that China's export growth is increasingly driven by industrial upgrading and stronger product competitiveness, with green products and advanced manufactured products becoming major sources of growth, analysts noted.

Thanks to proactive efforts and coordinated policy measures by various regions and departments, China's foreign trade got off to a strong start this year, with its resilience and vitality being fully demonstrated, Lyu Daliang, director of the Department of Statistics and Analysis of the General Administration of Customs, told a press briefing on May 9 in Beijing.