In the first seven months of 2026, China's total import and export volume reached 30.13 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.3%. Exports grew by 14% while imports surged by 22%, marking an import growth rate 8 percentage points higher than exports and making a significantly greater contribution to overall foreign trade expansion.

China has long been a global export powerhouse, with its manufactured goods reaching every corner of the world. However, the country's vast domestic market has become increasingly prominent in recent years, driving a remarkable surge in imports—a shift that raises two key questions: What is fueling this change, and how will China's ever-expanding market reshape global trade dynamics?

On August 27, 2026, the first batch of exhibits for the ninth China International Import Expo was loaded onto a ship in Hamburg, Germany, beginning their journey to Shanghai. Among them was a turn-mill composite machining center from an Austrian precision machinery company, making its Asian debut at the expo. To date, over 2,000 companies from more than 100 countries and regions have signed up for this November's event, which continues to open China's market to the world.

"Globalization has entered a difficult phase," said Zhou Hanmin, convener of the advisory group for CIIE Shanghai conference activities. "The expo aims to consistently demonstrate certainty to the world—first, certainty of openness, and second, a firm commitment to expanding imports."

This year's expo features an upgraded Asia-Africa product zone, precisely targeting the development needs of Global South countries. It also helps enterprises from African nations with diplomatic ties to China leverage the zero-tariff policy. China has now implemented zero tariffs for 63 countries, bringing its overall tariff level down to 7.3%, one of the lowest in the world. Starting May 1, 2026, China extended zero-tariff treatment to all 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations.

Zero tariffs have substantially lowered the cost of African exports to China, enabling an increasing number of high-quality, uniquely African products to enter the Chinese market. "Cocoa from Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, coffee and avocados from Kenya, citrus and wine from South Africa—all these goods have seen significant tariff reductions and now enjoy zero-tariff treatment in China," noted Yin Zhengping, a researcher at the Ministry of Commerce's Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. The proactive opening-up policy is a key foundation for the rapid growth in imports.

In the first half of this year, total trade between China and Africa hit an all-time high for the period, with imports from Africa reaching 193.8 billion yuan in May and June alone, up 23.5% year-on-year. Ethiopian coffee, originating from the birthplace of coffee, has rapidly gained competitiveness, with annual sales in China growing at an impressive 27%—making China its third-largest export market for coffee.

Just a short distance from the expo venue, the Hongqiao International Coffee Harbor serves as a year-round platform that capitalizes on the CIIE's spillover effects. It is both a paradise for coffee enthusiasts and fertile ground for coffee trade entrepreneurs. Wang Zhengxiang is one such entrepreneur. In 2021, he brought Ethiopian coffee beans to the fourth CIIE with just a nine-square-meter booth, which connected him with upstream and downstream partners and propelled his coffee trading business onto a fast-growth track.

Expanding imports has not only brought a colorful array of specialty products to Chinese consumers but also opened up new opportunities. At the Hongqiao International Coffee Harbor, several foreign entrepreneurs are chasing their dreams. A young Ethiopian man was recently seen at the livestreaming base promoting his hometown's coffee to Chinese audiences.

The impact is visible in Shanghai's Wukang Road, a street less than 1,200 meters long that is now home to more than ten cafés. The city boasts over 10,000 coffee shops in total, with the highest per capita annual coffee consumption in the country. At these boutique cafés, African specialty beans with pronounced floral and fruity notes have become a classic choice for pour-over offerings.

Premium coffee beans and other global goods are entering China through zero-tariff channels, providing domestic consumers with increasingly diverse choices. As domestic consumption continues to upgrade, China's role as a "super buyer" is creating vast market opportunities for countries worldwide. The country now imports agricultural and food products from more than 150 countries and regions.

Guangxi serves as the gateway for Southeast Asian fruit entering China. In the first seven months of this year, 492,000 tons of durian worth 14.59 billion yuan were imported through the Youyi Pass at Pingxiang, both up by around 40% from a year earlier. Li Qianchang, a Pingxiang native who joined an ASEAN fruit trading company in 2020, pointed to a board at his office entrance tracking the container volumes of durian imported by his company this year. "Thailand's durian production has risen sharply this year," he said. "The number of containers imported in the first seven months is nearly equal to all of last year's total."

China's import growth is not only driven by consumption upgrading but also strongly powered by industrial upgrading. In the January-July period, imports of mechanical and electrical products reached 5.31 trillion yuan, up 29.7% year-on-year and accounting for 41.9% of total imports. Electronic components imports climbed by 45.6%, while metal ore and sand rose by 22.6%. These "industrial staples" flow into domestic production lines through large-scale imports, where they undergo further processing to add value, fully leveraging the conversion efficiency of China's complete industrial system.

"China's economy is developing steadily and positively overall, which is the internal driving force behind import growth," Yin Zhengping explained. "This year, the economy has remained broadly stable, manufacturing has held steady with improvements, and investment in high-tech industries has increased—all of which provide strong support for expanding imports of raw materials and intermediate goods."

Integrated circuits stand out among the industrial product categories. In the first seven months of this year, integrated circuit imports through Xi'an's air port amounted to 45.85 billion yuan, a year-on-year surge of 441.6%. Citywide, integrated circuit imports totaled 79.04 billion yuan, up 115.4%. This growth pattern mirrors the national trend, with many fast-growing import categories closely tied to the booming artificial intelligence sector.

He Zhaopeng, vice dean and professor at the School of Economics of Central University of Finance and Economics, noted: "The 15th Five-Year Plan outline calls for advancing the Digital China initiative and enhancing the level of digital and intelligent development. Market entities have responded vigorously, driving rapid growth in imports of automatic data processing equipment and parts, electronic components, and computer and communication technology—all growing at over 47%. This indicates that China's economic structure is undergoing continuous upgrading and that its digital and intelligent development level is steadily rising."

In the first seven months, Xi'an's total imports reached 116.17 billion yuan, up 40.8% year-on-year, with imports through its air port rising 1.6 times to 56.2 billion yuan. Mechanical and electrical products emerged as the primary driver of this growth. Meanwhile, in Guangxi, imports from ASEAN grew 19% year-on-year to 62.84 billion yuan, with mechanical and electrical products up 23.8% and metal ores and sand up 3.4%. One supply chain services company in Nanning, capitalizing on its proximity to ASEAN and favorable open-door policies, is seeing steady growth in bulk commodity imports from the region.

Beyond consumer upgrading and robust manufacturing demand, a third critical factor behind import growth lies in convenient transportation and smooth logistics networks. The inland city of Xi'an—neither coastal nor bordering—has leveraged its railway system to establish its own import-export corridors. The Xi'an assembly center for China-Europe freight trains has launched 18 international routes covering major regions across Asia and Europe, with key metrics such as train frequency, cargo volume, and heavy container rates ranking among the nation's top for eight consecutive years. This trans-Eurasian "steel artery" has effectively brought a port to Xi'an's doorstep, enabling smooth cross-border flow of bulk commodities like grain. Benefiting from rail's large capacity and low weather sensitivity, wheat, mung beans, and other grains from Central Asia now arrive directly at Xi'an Port via freight trains, making the China-Europe Railway Express a key logistics channel for grain imports.

Import growth also depends on an efficient logistics system and faster customs clearance at ports. For perishable imports like durian and seafood, quicker clearance reduces product loss while ensuring fresher goods reach consumers' tables promptly. For bulk commodities such as mineral ores and high-value-added components, reducing dwell time at ports effectively lowers costs for domestic enterprises.

China remains committed to expanding its opening-up policy, aiming to both "sell globally" and "buy globally," fostering balanced two-way trade development. This year, China has hosted around 40 events under the "Shared Large Market, Export to China" series, helping trading partners expand channels for exporting quality goods to China and achieve mutual benefits.

"China is demonstrating through concrete actions that its door to the world will only open wider," Yin Zhengping stated. "China does not deliberately pursue a trade surplus; we will continue to promote balanced import-export growth."

He Zhaopeng added: "We are not only the world's factory but also the world's market. We have the confidence and capability to sustain this positive momentum and work with other countries to make the cake of common development bigger."

As the world's largest manufacturing country and second-largest consumer market, China has been the world's second-largest import market for 17 consecutive years since 2009. In the current complex and volatile global trade environment—with the International Monetary Fund projecting global trade growth to slow to 3.5% in 2026—China is ready to share opportunities and pursue common development with the world, transforming its super-sized market into a globally shared marketplace and injecting new momentum into the global economy.