China’s Foreign Trade, April 2026: Chips, Gold and New Geographies of Value Chains

China's foreign trade in April 2026 reached record figures: USD 360 billion in exports and USD 275 billion in imports, both the highest monthly values ever recorded.
Beneath the surface of the aggregate data, dynamics are emerging that deserve closer analysis, as they outline a value chain that is undergoing a deep reconfiguration.

Exports: Hong Kong overtakes the US, while the ICT supply chain drives growth

On the export side, the most relevant finding is that in April 2026, for the second consecutive month, Hong Kong ranked as the leading destination market for the Dragon's exports, ahead of the United States. This is the outcome of a trend that took shape in April 2025, coinciding with Trump's “Liberation Day”: since then, the progressive tightening of the US trade framework has supported a reshaping of Chinese flows, strengthening Hong Kong's role as a destination and re-export hub. Hong Kong's share of total Chinese exports rose from 6.7% in January 2025 to 10.6% in April 2026; over the same period, the United States' share fell from 14.7% to 10.2%.

Considering cumulative values for January-April 2026, the US is the only partner among the top 15 in negative territory. Mexico, a proximity hub for the US market, is essentially flat (+1%), in sharp contrast with the dynamism of Vietnam and Thailand (+22-25%), which continue to play their role as alternative channels for accessing North American demand.

China exports - Top markets (Jan-Apr 2026 cumulative)

Among destination markets for Chinese exports, Asia clearly emerges as the most dynamic front. In addition to Hong Kong, Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan all grew by between 22% and 30%, while India and Indonesia recorded slower but still very strong growth rates (+18% and +13%).

On the opposite side, in addition to the United States, the most visible decline concerns the Gulf area, particularly the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, penalized by the Middle East crisis and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

China exports by partner - Main reductions (Jan-Apr 2026 cumulative)

From a product perspective, Chinese exports in the January-April 2026 period show a particular concentration: a single sector, namely “parts of computers and other office machines”, alone accounts for more than one third of the total cumulative increase recorded in the first four months of 2026 (USD 63.5 billion out of a total delta of around USD 167 billion). The growth of this sector clearly fits into the context of the global expansion of data center and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

China exports - Top sectors (Jan-Apr 2026 cumulative)

The performance of China's exports in the electrical, electronic and automotive sectors also points to a coherent trajectory: the China exporting in 2026 is increasingly the China of the energy and digital transition, with a growing position in electric vehicle, advanced electronics and technological infrastructure supply chains.

By contrast, some historic sectors of the “world's factory” show signs of progressive erosion. In the January-April 2026 cumulative period, declines were recorded in footwear (-9%), lamps and lighting equipment (-10%), personal items (-7%), bags, suitcases and wallets (-4%) and glasses and tableware (-5%). These are accompanied by decreases in more industrial segments, such as steel (-7%) and nickel and other non-ferrous metals (-23%). The picture suggests a gradual shift in domestic value added from more labour-intensive production toward segments with higher technological content and specialized skills.

Imports: ICT components, precious metals and the new geography of energy

On the import side, cumulative growth in the first four months of 2026 is even more pronounced than export growth: USD 989 billion compared with USD 801 billion in the previous year, equal to a +23.5% year-on-year increase and USD 188 billion in absolute value growth. The composition by partner reveals some particularly intense phenomena.

China imports - Top exporting countries (Jan-Apr 2026 cumulative)

The most striking figure is the surge in imports from Switzerland, which more than tripled compared with 2025 (+237%, over USD 26 billion of delta in four months). The product drill-down shows that USD 26.5 billion out of the USD 26.6 billion increase can be attributed to a single item: precious metals (gold). Likewise, the surge of Hong Kong as a supplier (+200%) is almost entirely explained by incoming gold, for a further USD 12 billion. Through these two channels, China is accumulating precious metals at an unprecedented pace.

The second relevant dynamic is the trend in imports from South Korea (+50%, +USD 27.9 billion): here too, almost the entire observed increase is linked to a single sector, namely computer parts. These are, in particular, semiconductors and server components entering China to be assembled and largely re-exported. The same value chain that fuels the record performance of the sector on the export side appears symbiotic on the import side: the phenomenon is bilateral and dimensionally consistent.

For the other partners, growth is distributed but more limited. Indonesia (+53%), Australia (+46%), Brazil (+37%) and Vietnam (+28%) advanced with dynamics mainly linked to raw materials and the redistribution of energy supplies. The United States, the only major partner in negative territory (-11%), confirms in cumulative terms the picture already observed on the export side.

China imports by partner - Main reductions (Jan-Apr 2026 cumulative)

As regards the largest reductions, the effect of the conflict in the Middle East emerges clearly. Chinese crude oil imports from Persian Gulf countries fell from USD 10.4 billion to USD 7.7 billion per month (-26%) between January and April, with particularly sharp reductions for suppliers most exposed to transit through Hormuz: Qatar fell from USD 1.6 billion to USD 0.1 billion (-93%), Iraq from USD 2.2 billion to USD 0.2 billion (-89%), while Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates both lost around 70%. Saudi Arabia, which has terminals on the Red Sea and therefore alternative routes, is instead the only Gulf supplier to grow: it rose from USD 2.7 billion to USD 4.6 billion per month (+73%), absorbing part of the demand diverted from blocked neighbouring countries. Oman followed a similar dynamic, as it has terminals on the Arabian Sea outside the Strait and grew by 29%.

It should be highlighted, however, that China's response to the Hormuz shock was not a contraction in demand, but a rapid reconfiguration of routes. As regards energy raw materials, in fact, the growth of suppliers not exposed to the Strait was immediate and dimensionally consistent: from January to April, Russia rose from USD 6.4 billion to USD 7.9 billion (+23%), Brazil from USD 2.5 billion to USD 4.3 billion (+70%), and Indonesia from USD 2.5 billion to USD 3.3 billion (+30%).

From a product perspective, two items dominate China's import picture in terms of both weight and dynamics.

China imports - Top sectors (Jan-Apr 2026 cumulative)

Computer parts are worth USD 209 billion in imports over the first four months, compared with USD 134 billion in exports, with an increase of USD 76 billion (+58%). The difference between the inbound and outbound flows does not represent a sector deficit, but the value added generated by Chinese industrial processing. Adding together the flows of finished computers and communication equipment, the ICT block enters at an average cumulative value of over USD 240 billion and exits at around USD 245 billion: China confirms its role as a central hub in an expanding global value chain, dependent upstream on Asian semiconductors and dominant downstream.

Precious metals are the macro phenomenon of the period. Having tripled in value (+200%, from USD 30 billion to USD 91 billion), they come for more than half from Switzerland (USD 33 billion cumulative), followed by Hong Kong (17), Australia (15) and, to a lesser extent, South Africa and Kazakhstan. The geographic concentration in a few bullion hub countries, combined with the scale of the volumes, is consistent with the hypothesis of strategic gold reserve accumulation, in line with the currency diversification policy pursued by the PBoC. Copper (+22%) and metal ores (+26%) complete the picture of particularly intense Chinese demand for metals, both precious and industrial.

China imports by sector - Main reductions (Jan-Apr 2026 cumulative)

Quantitatively significant declines are concentrated in three distinct phenomena. Inbound cars fell by 17% in cumulative terms, a direct consequence of the maturation of China's automotive industry, which is now a net exporter with strongly accelerating dynamics. Aircraft remain frozen at minimal levels: USD 1.7 billion cumulative in four months, compared with USD 5.1 billion in the previous year, reflecting the prolonged commercial disconnect in US and European supplies. Finally, machines for semiconductor manufacturing fell by 12%: after two years of strong accumulation, Chinese investment in domestic production capacity is stabilizing, signalling a phase of consolidation rather than acceleration.