Guangdong-APEC trade tops $850 billion in first three quarters of 2026

Guangdong province showed a remarkable increase in trade with APEC members in the first three quarters of the year, posting 5.74 trillion yuan ($856.73 billion) in imports and exports over the period, a year-on-year increase of 26.4 percent.

Bi Kexin, deputy director of Guangdong Customs, shared the latest numbers at a press conference in the provincial capital of Guangzhou on Monday.

The growth with the APEC economies outpaced the province's overall foreign trade by 1.9 percentage points, driving 17.1 percentage points of provincial foreign trade growth and making up 65.9 percent of total trade. Imports and exports with 15 member economies, such as China's Hong Kong and Taiwan regions, the US, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Canada, all achieved double-digit growth.

Thus far, the APEC "China Year" has helped Guangdong's exports to other APEC economies hit 3.33 trillion yuan, up 18.2 percent year-on-year, Bi said. Mechanical and electrical product exports reached 2.33 trillion yuan, growing 20.6 percent and representing 70 percent of Guangdong's exports to APEC economies.

Exports of high-end manufactured items surged, including integrated circuits (61.6 percent) and industrial robots (26.6 percent). Lithium batteries and electric vehicles grew by 11.9 percent and 18.6 percent, respectively. At the same time, imports of integrated circuits and computer parts from other APEC economies climbed 48.4 percent and 77.9 percent, respectively.

Bi promised that Guangdong Customs would continue refining supervision approaches and upgrading services to facilitate growth and lend customs support for an open, innovative, and cooperative Asia-Pacific community in the months to come.

Shenzhen is set to host the APEC meeting in November.