China's exports have maintained a momentum of rapid growth since the beginning of 2026, driven by a surge in global demand for supply in such fields as artificial intelligence (AI) and green transition, a senior official with the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Wang Jun, deputy head of the GAC, briefed on the driving forces behind the country's robust economic performance in regard to export growth.
"Since the beginning of this year, China's export growth has exceeded 10 percent, marking 11 consecutive quarters of expansion. The root cause behind this growth lies in the precise alignment of the 'Made in China' strategy with diverse global demand," Wang said.
Citing United Nations reports, Wang noted that global trade growth so far this year has been heavily concentrated in AI-related sectors.
"Global demand for computing power, data centers and terminal devices has continued to expand, boosting exports of related Chinese products. In the first half of the year, China's exports of such products as electronic components and computer parts both achieved double-digit growth, together contributing 6.9 percentage points to overall export growth. And more than 10,000 intelligent bionic robots with in-depth integration of AI were exported to over 90 other countries and regions worldwide," said the senior official.
"At present, the global transition toward green and low-carbon development is further advancing, and the growing demand for new energy development and consumption aligns closely with China's green products," he noted.
Wang then explained that exports of lithium batteries and wind turbine units rose 37.6 percent and 35.6 percent, respectively, year on year in the first six months. Exports of green mobility products of electric vehicles increased by 68.7 percent, with electric locomotives up 45.1 percent, and electric motorcycles and bicycles rising 31.5 percent, according to Wang.
Wang also said that exports of specialized equipment, ships and marine engineering equipment reached 540.24 billion yuan (about 79.65 billion U.S. dollars) and 214.99 billion yuan (about 31.70 billion U.S. dollars), up 24.4 percent and 19.9 percent, respectively over the same period of last year.
From intelligent excavators and heavy-duty gas turbines to offshore platforms, Chinese-made equipment has played key roles in major international projects, he added.
"In the first half of this year, tensions in the Middle East tightened global supplies of chemical products. Leveraging its comprehensive industrial system and full supply-chain support capabilities, China was able to quickly respond to the sudden surge in external demand. During the six-month period, China's exports of basic organic chemicals and primary-form plastics increased by 25.1 percent and 35 percent, respectively, year on year, meeting companies' production needs and helping ensure stability of the related industrial and supply chains," Wang said.
He said that China's stable supply chains are becoming a key hub linking mutually beneficial global cooperation, while the country will continue to respond to global demand, and inject greater certainty and new momentum into international trade and economic cooperation.
China's export growth driven by AI, green transition, industrial demand: official
