Wind turbines, 3D printers help drive China's foreign trade growth

China's foreign trade grew by 17.3 percent on a yearly basis to 30.13 trillion yuan ($4.47 trillion) in the first seven months of 2026, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Friday.

The country's exports rose 14 percent year-on-year to 17.44 trillion yuan, while its imports jumped 22 percent on a yearly basis to 12.69 trillion yuan.

China's foreign trade totaled 4.66 trillion yuan in July, up 19.2 percent year-on-year.

Customs statistics showed that China's export mix continued to shift toward higher-tech and greener products. The country's exports of mechanical and electrical products, such as electric vehicles and wind turbines, rose 21.2 percent year-on-year to 11.12 trillion yuan between January and July, accounting for 63.8 percent of China's total exports, up 3.8 percentage points from the same period last year.

China's exports of 3D printers surged 110 percent year-on-year to 11.2 billion yuan during the January-July period, while exports of industrial robots and ships rose 13.2 percent and 32.7 percent to 7.34 billion yuan and 268.14 billion yuan, respectively.