Yangtze River Delta region posts strong trade growth at start of 2026
East China's Yangtze River Delta region saw strong momentum in trade at the start of 2026, with its trade value in goods reaching a record high of three trillion yuan (around 435 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 38.8 percent of the country's total foreign trade volume in the first two months, latest data showed.
Based on customs statistics, in January and February, imports and exports in the region's Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui provinces and Shanghai reached 1.03 trillion yuan, 989.01 billion yuan, 183.56 billion yuan, and 796.57 billion yuan, respectively, up 19.7 percent, 17.1 percent, 29.3 percent, and 23.1 percent year on year.
The region's global trade ties continued to expand, with imports and exports to ASEAN, the EU, and countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative all growing by more than 20 percent.
The region's structure of imports and exports continued to optimize, with exports of vehicles and lithium-ion batteries increasing by 77.9 percent and 37.6 percent, respectively.
Jiangsu, a major foreign trade province, has helped local transformer manufacturers to expand into overseas markets to meet the growing needs of power infrastructure amid global energy transition.
Jiangsu Huapeng Transformer Co., Ltd is a world-leading transformer manufacturing company in the province's Changzhou City. The company's 110kV transformers were recognized as single-item champion products in the manufacturing sector by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Its products are widely used in power, new energy, and rail transportation, and are sold to more than 100 countries and regions worldwide.
"In the first two months, the volume of our self-operated exports reached 545 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 77.4 percent. During this period, we received bulk orders from Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia. The proportion of products sold overseas has exceeded 60 percent," said Zhu Shanshan, deputy general manager of the company.
