Energy equipment exports posted strong growth in the first three quarters.

On October 14, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to present China’s import and export performance for the first three quarters of 2026. During this period, China’s equipment manufacturing sector played a leading role, accounting for nearly 90 percent of the increase in exports. Intermediate goods accounted for more than half of total export value, effectively serving as a “stabilizing anchor” for global supply chains. Export products are increasingly oriented toward intelligence and green technologies: integrated circuit exports rose by 99.1 percent, while exports of electric vehicles, lithium batteries, wind turbine generators, and related parts grew by 72.3 percent, 36.4 percent, and 22.4 percent, respectively.

On the overall foreign trade front, during the first three quarters of this year, China’s goods trade totaled RMB 39.94 trillion, up 18.8% year on year. Exports reached RMB 23.20 trillion, an increase of 16.4%, while imports amounted to RMB 16.74 trillion, up 22.3%. The data highlight five distinct trends: sustained rapid growth in both imports and exports; steady consolidation and expansion of market diversification; a continued shift in export momentum toward new, higher‑quality drivers; coordinated progress across all types of market players; and a more balanced and well‑coordinated foreign trade landscape.

Wang Jun, spokesperson and Deputy Director-General of the General Administration of Customs, stated that exports have maintained a robust growth momentum, largely owing to China’s well‑established industrial chain, the continuous expansion and strengthening of its advanced manufacturing sector, and the marked enhancement of its innovation capacity, competitiveness, and overall strength. These factors enable China to respond swiftly, precisely, and effectively to global production and consumption demands, delivering high‑quality, stable supplies.

Among China’s foreign trade operators, private enterprises have continued to strengthen their role in stabilizing trade volumes and optimizing the sectoral structure. In the first three quarters, their total import and export value reached RMB 22.73 trillion, up 19.1% year on year, accounting for 56.9% of China’s overall foreign trade and maintaining their position as the country’s largest trading entity. Leveraging flexible market mechanisms and robust innovation, private firms have kept pace with global industrial frontiers, accelerating the transformation of foreign trade toward “new‑track, high‑end, and smart” sectors. During the same period, the share of high‑tech products in private‑sector imports and exports rose by 2.6 percentage points. Imports of electronic components and computer parts increased by 51.2% and 136.1%, respectively, while exports of the “new three major items” grew by 43.6%. Moreover, exports of industrial robots and CNC machine tools accounted for more than 70% of the national total for these product categories.

Guo Bowen, an associate professor at the School of Applied Economics of Renmin University of China, explains that China has long invested deeply in the energy and high-end manufacturing sectors, establishing a complete energy industry chain that spans raw materials, core components, and turnkey equipment manufacturing, all the way to engineering construction and operations‑and‑maintenance services. Coupled with the advantages of cultivating an ultra‑large domestic market, this has laid a solid foundation for domestic enterprises to achieve rapid industrialization and large‑scale growth. Meanwhile, private enterprises possess inherent dynamism in areas such as rapid technological iteration, meticulous cost control, swift market responsiveness, and innovative business models, enabling them to efficiently translate their robust industrial infrastructure into tangible international competitiveness.

At present, the global boom in AI investment continues to gain momentum, driving sustained expansion in the construction of computing‑power infrastructure and the demand for related power‑equipment supplies, thereby creating new growth opportunities for China’s exports of intelligent green products. On the one hand, the rapid development of artificial intelligence is accelerating worldwide investments in computing‑power facilities, leading to a steady increase in demand for computing‑power terminal devices and intermediate inputs required for their manufacture. On the other hand, as large‑scale computing‑power infrastructure comes online, global demand for power‑equipment is rising in tandem. Leveraging its comprehensive industrial system and robust technological innovation capabilities, China provides solid support to meet the growing global needs for computing power and electricity.

In terms of computing power, during the first three quarters, China’s exports of integrated circuits surged by 99.1%, computer peripherals more than doubled, and storage components such as solid-state drives increased by 130%, ensuring a stable supply of intermediate goods across the global computing‑power value chain. Exports of servers and other data‑processing equipment rose by 7.2%, supporting the development of global computing‑infrastructure. Moreover, Chinese-made end products—including AI glasses and intelligent bionic robots—continue to gain traction in international markets, steadily expanding the range of global AI application scenarios.

In the power sector, product exports gained momentum across multiple segments in the first three quarters. Looking at the three key areas—generation, transmission, and storage—generation saw photovoltaic products grow by 10.3% and wind turbine generators and their components rise by 22.4%, steadily helping to close the global gap in clean energy supply. In the transmission segment, wire and cable exports increased by 28.1%, while transformer shipments climbed by 22.5%. Meanwhile, in the storage sector, exports of various types of batteries surged by 34.8%, reaching more than 200 countries and regions worldwide.

From high-speed optical communication modules no bigger than a fingernail to AI‑powered server racks weighing several tons, from a single household power cord to ultra‑high‑voltage converter transformers used for long‑distance, large‑capacity power transmission, from portable power banks to large‑scale industrial and commercial energy‑storage systems, and from individual small batteries to containerized integrated energy‑storage solutions, countless Chinese enterprises are providing pragmatic, viable, mature, and reliable “Chinese products,” “Chinese expertise,” and “Chinese solutions” to support global computing‑power infrastructure, stable grid operations, and secure electricity supply.

Source: China Energy News