AI, robots, and high-end manufacturing drive Shanghai's record-breaking H1 foreign trade

In the first half of 2026, Shanghai saw its total import and export value surge 18.6 percent year-on-year to 2.55 trillion yuan ($376.9 billion), pressing forward against global market headwinds, the Shanghai Customs District said on Tuesday.

Import value spiked 17.4 percent year-on-year to 1.41 trillion yuan, while exports surpassed the 1-trillion-yuan mark for the first time to stand at 1.14 trillion yuan, representing an annual growth of 20.1 percent.

As of June, Shanghai's monthly foreign trade figures have recorded year-on-year growth for 17 consecutive months, with the first six months of 2026 each posting double-digit growth.

The five major product categories —  industrial-grade transformers, energy storage batteries, servers and related components, integrated circuits, and solid-state drives — recorded a combined import and export value of 471.2 billion yuan in the first six months, up 71.8 percent from a year earlier.

These products are in strong demand amid the global push for AI infrastructure and smart industrial upgrading,  Li Jirong, deputy director of the statistical analysis department of the Shanghai Customs District, explained.

Overseas orders are stable and growing. What's more, Shanghai's well-developed bonded logistics, strong distribution capability, and efficient customs clearance have made it the go-to Asia-Pacific hub for nearly all multinational electronics companies, giving local trade statistics a major lift, he said.

Shanghai shipped 1.91 billion yuan of industrial, surgical, cleaning, and intelligent bionic robots in the first six months, up 1.3 times from last year's level.

Meanwhile, the city's automobile exports jumped 81.6 percent year-on-year to 99.01 billion yuan, with new energy vehicles contributing roughly 70 percent of the total. Lithium-ion battery exports, including energy storage units and EV batteries, grew to 101.63 billion yuan, surpassing the full-year export value of 2021.

Shanghai's ship exports hit a record 32.11 billion yuan in the first half, up 42.5 percent from a year earlier. Notably, 11 liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas carriers were delivered, a 1.6-fold increase on a yearly basis.