China is stepping up efforts to strengthen its trade links with other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies, with a growing emphasis on high-tech products in both imports and exports.
Data from the General Administration of Customs of China showed that in the first three quarters of 2026, China's trade with other APEC economies reached 24.07 trillion yuan (3.6 trillion U.S. dollars), accounting for 60.3 percent of China's total foreign trade, up 2.5 percentage points from a year earlier.
Trade in high-tech products with other APEC economies jumped 50.3 percent in the same period, accounting for nearly half of the increase in bilateral trade, with the value of China's high-tech exports to APEC markets rising 58.2 percent year on year.
Products such as robots, solar equipment and electric vehicles are emerging as signature Chinese exports to the region.
For the intelligent bionic robots, the top three export destinations are the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea, with the APEC economies accounting for more than 60 percent of China's total global exports in this sector.
Exports of solar cells have continued to grow rapidly this year, with the value of exports to Indonesia, in particular, surging by nearly 150 percent.
China's new-energy vehicles have likewise gained traction across APEC markets, with demand steadily rising.
On the import side, the value of high-tech goods China sourced from APEC economies grew by 51.8 percent year on year in the first three quarters of this year.
Notably, imports of integrated circuits rose by more than two-thirds, while those of solid-state drives more than doubled, reflecting China's demand for advanced components.
China will host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen in south China this month, which will mark the country's third hosting of the event following Shanghai in 2001 and Beijing in 2014. The theme of this year's summit is "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together," while China has identified openness, innovation and cooperation as the three priority areas for this year's APEC cooperation.
China deepens high-tech trade ties with other APEC economies
