Xinjiang's foreign trade up 11.3 percent in first three quarters of 2026

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region's import and export value reached 437.9 billion yuan ($65.7 billion) in the first three quarters of the year, up 11.3 percent year-on-year, according to Urumqi Customs District.

Exports stood at 384.87 billion yuan, increasing by 9.8 percent, with imports reaching 53.02 billion yuan, up 23.7 percent. Xinjiang's import value exceeded the same period last year by more than 10 billion yuan. September imports alone reached 7.88 billion yuan, up 59.2 percent.

At a news conference in Urumqi on Tuesday, Li Qinghua, deputy head of the customs district, said mechanical and electrical products have accounted for more than 40 percent of Xinjiang's exports this year, making them the region's largest export category. In the first three quarters, Xinjiang exported 160.45 billion yuan of these products, up 15.8 percent. Exports of electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products grew 59.8 percent.

Southern Xinjiang gained momentum in both growth and share, with its import and export value reaching 142.8 billion yuan, up 22.5 percent, and its share rising 3 percentage points to 32.6 percent.

More than 4,300 enterprises across Xinjiang had import and export records, a year-on-year increase of 14.5 percent. The trade volume of private enterprises reached 415.35 billion yuan, up 13.1 percent, while that of foreign-invested enterprises grew 462.4 percent, with their share rising to 1.9 percent.

In the first three quarters, Xinjiang traded with 220 countries and regions worldwide and recorded trade growth with 156 of them. Central Asian countries remain the mainstay of Xinjiang's foreign trade, making up nearly half of the total. Trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative grew 12.8 percent, accounting for 88 percent of the total.

Li said 52 countries and regions exported more than 10 million yuan worth of goods to Xinjiang in the first three quarters. Central Asia, ASEAN countries, and Russia were Xinjiang's main sources of imports.

China's zero-tariff treatment for all 53 African countries with diplomatic relations, effective May 1 this year, drove Xinjiang's trade with Africa up 112.9 percent. Imports from Africa increased by 176.4 percent, accounting for 5 percent of the region's total import value.

Cargo volume at Xinjiang's ports reached 70.77 million metric tons, up 7.8 percent year-on-year. Railway, highway, and aviation cargo volumes grew 9 percent, 28.1 percent, and 23.9 percent, respectively.

Li added that more than 110,000 China-Europe and China-Central Asia freight trains have passed through Xinjiang via the Alashankou (Alataw Pass) and Horgos railway ports over the past 15 years, accounting for more than half of the country's total. The two ports handle more than 50 freight trains per day on average, with over 14,000 passing through in the first three quarters, up 5.3 percent year-on-year.