Henan's foreign trade has made a strong start in 2026. According to Zhengzhou Customs on March 16, the province's total imports and exports reached 173.68 billion yuan in the first two months, marking a record high for the same period in Henan's history. The year-on-year growth rate was 28.2 percent, 9.9 percentage points above the national average. Of the total volume, exports amounted to 102.12 billion yuan, up 12.7 percent, while imports surged 59.7 percent to 71.56 billion yuan.
Henan's foreign trade entities achieved remarkable growth in the first two months. A total of 11,200 enterprises in the province reported import and export activities, up 36.5 percent year-on-year. Among them, 211 companies saw foreign trade volume exceed 50 million yuan, a 19.9 percent increase from the same period last year. During this time, private enterprises recorded imports and exports totaling 133.16 billion yuan, rising by 38.7 percent, while state-owned enterprises reported 10.84 billion yuan, a 47.3 percent increase.
Henan's foreign trade markets have become increasingly diversified. In the first two months, the province's total imports and exports with its top five trading partners grew to 86.62 billion yuan, up 32.3 percent year-on-year. Trade with ASEAN reached 22.73 billion yuan, an increase of 35.8 percent, while trade with the European Union stood at 16.61 billion yuan, up 7.7 percent. Trade with China's Taiwan region totaled 12.86 billion yuan, surging 65.5 percent. During the same period, trade with other emerging markets also grew rapidly. Imports and exports with Latin America reached 17.58 billion yuan, up 8.8 percent, while trade with Africa totaled 7.58 billion yuan, marking a 41.9 percent increase. Additionally, trade with Belt and Road partner countries amounted to 75.81 billion yuan, up 14.3 percent, while trade with other RCEP members totaled 45.85 billion yuan, up 11.9 percent.
Exports from Henan showed a strong shift toward innovation and green development. In the first two months, the province exported 8.76 billion yuan worth of the "new three" products — electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products — marking a 178.9 percent year-on-year increase. Exports of high-end equipment reached 1.63 billion yuan, up 55.4 percent, while biopharmaceutical exports totaled 170 million yuan, an increase of 34.2 percent. Exports of industrial gas purification equipment stood at 30 million yuan, more than doubling compared to the previous year.
Henan's imports performed even stronger. In the first two months, both production demand and consumer activity showed steady expand. Imports of metal ores and concentrates reached 12.64 billion yuan, up 25.3 percent year-on-year. Imports of parts for automatic data processing equipment surged to 3.39 billion yuan, marking a 3.8-fold increase. Agricultural imports totaled 3.3 billion yuan, up 32.1 percent. Imports of unwrought aluminum, cosmetics and personal care products reached 970 million yuan and 760 million yuan, increasing by 2.1 times and 8.3 percent, respectively.
In addition, foreign trade in Henan has shown strong growth across its cities. In the first two months, all 13 prefecture-level cities and Jiyuan Industry-City Integration Demonstration Zone reported positive growth in imports and exports. (Chinese source: Henan Daily Reporter: Wang Ge Correspondent: Liu Yuanfang Translator: Yang Jiaxin Proofreader: Ding Lan and Zhao Hanqing)
