China's foreign trade sustained its growth momentum from the first quarter into April, demonstrating robust performance. Data released by the General Administration of Customs shows that in the first four months of this year, the total value of China's goods trade imports and exports reached 16.23 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%, with the cumulative growth rate largely consistent with the first quarter. In April alone, imports and exports totaled 4.38 trillion yuan, up 14.2% year-on-year. Exports grew by 9.8%, a significant acceleration of 10.5 percentage points from March, while imports reached 1.9 trillion yuan, increasing by 20.6%.
Market observers generally agree that with the recovery of external demand, China's foreign trade growth in April far exceeded expectations, showcasing strong resilience and an upgrading product structure towards newer and higher-quality goods.
"Against the backdrop of steadily improving foreign trade, trade related to China's new quality productive forces is flourishing. The roles of artificial intelligence, new energy, and the digital economy in promoting high-quality foreign trade development are becoming increasingly prominent. Among these, exports of artificial intelligence-related products have performed notably well, becoming a key engine driving foreign trade growth," explained Zhu Siqiao, an associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
Exports of high-tech, high-value-added AI products, ranging from computer components and electronic parts to industrial robots and 3D printers, are growing rapidly, signaling the industry's advancement towards the mid-to-high end.
Zhu Siqiao analyzed that AI-related products encompass various fields, including computing infrastructure, smart terminals, and supporting components. Data indicates that in the first four months of this year, integrated circuit exports surged by 78.3% year-on-year, while industrial robot exports grew by 30%. In April alone, integrated circuit exports soared by 99.6%, and exports of automatic data processing equipment and its parts increased by 47.3%. Additionally, exports of optical transceiver modules for high-end graphics cards and electrical equipment meeting data center power demands also experienced rapid growth.
On the production floor of Shenzhen Bambu Lab, a 3D printer manufacturer, workers are busy assembling smart devices destined for global markets. Each machine represents fully independent research and development across the entire chain, from AI visual perception and intelligent control to hardware integration. On April 14 of this year, Bambu Lab released a new printer model. Featuring innovations like AI-powered full-process monitoring, a dual-nozzle intelligent extrusion system, and intelligent chamber thermal management, the launch triggered strong sales. The company's global annual revenue is projected to exceed 10 billion yuan by 2025. In the first four months of this year, Bambu Lab's overseas market maintained robust growth, with particularly rapid expansion in emerging markets like Latin America.
According to Shenzhen Customs statistics, in the first four months, Shenzhen's exports of 3D printers and digital cameras reached 5.24 billion yuan and 3.71 billion yuan, respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 128.6% and 72.1%. These figures account for 85.8% and 70.3% of the national export value for these respective product categories.
"The global investment boom in artificial intelligence continues to heat up, driving up demand and prices for chips, electronic components, and related goods. China's advantage of having a complete manufacturing industrial chain is becoming more apparent. The country possesses significant cost and production capacity advantages in areas like chip packaging, server manufacturing, and complete robot assembly, meeting the demand from the global expansion of data center construction. As external demand recovers comprehensively, orders for AI hardware are being concentrated and released, driving exceptionally rapid export growth," Zhu Siqiao analyzed. He added that China's position in the global AI industry chain is increasingly solidifying. The country is not only a supplier of end products but also a crucial production and export base for key links in the industrial chain.
Domestic demand is steadily expanding, driving synchronous growth in import scale. In the first quarter, imports of high-tech products grew by 25.1%. In the highly globalized field of artificial intelligence, foreign-funded enterprises represent a significant force in the industry, and their export products are also moving towards greater intelligence. In the first quarter, exports of industrial robots and 3D printers by foreign-funded enterprises accounted for over 30% and 60%, respectively, of China's total exports in these product categories.
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