High-Tech Exports Drive Shanghai's Foreign Trade Surge

Shanghai's exports reached 241.14 billion yuan (US$36.11 billion) in September, marking a remarkable 39.5 percent year-on-year increase, while the month also saw a 12 percent growth in imports, which stood at 261.9 billion yuan.

Export performance continues to serve as the core engine driving the city's foreign trade, demonstrating immense resilience against external shocks.

Building on this momentum, Shanghai's foreign trade scale expanded throughout the third quarter. The average monthly import and export volume rose to 460 billion yuan in the period.

Over the first three quarters of the year, the city's total foreign trade hit 3.94 trillion yuan, up 17.9 percent. Shanghai maintained its position as the fourth largest in the country, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the nation's total and continuing to act as the "ballast stone" for regional and national trade.

Each quarter maintained double-digit growth, with the monthly average expanding from 410 billion yuan in the first quarter to 440 billion yuan in the second quarter.

Emerging industries, particularly artificial intelligence and robotics, fueled this growth. Exports of seven key AI-related products, including industrial transformers, energy storage batteries, and integrated circuits, surged by 70.3 percent to 415.28 billion yuan, making up 23 percent of the city's total exports.

Meanwhile, high-end robots for medical surgery and bionic applications accounted for a significant share of the national total. Traditional sectors also transformed, with ship exports rising 52.3 percent to 53.46 billion yuan, driven by high-value vessels like LNG ships. Bicycles and labor-intensive products, such as textiles and furniture, also maintained steady growth.

Logistics and open platforms further accelerated this momentum. The Lingang Special Area in Pudong saw a 35.3 percent trade surge, acting as a testing ground for institutional openness.

Meanwhile, high-value air freight and cross-border e-commerce volume expanded by 28.7 percent. The newly launched Shanghai-Chancay shipping route opened a fresh corridor to Latin America, and China-Europe freight trains saw their cargo value soar by 110 percent.

Looking ahead, Shanghai Customs will focus on optimizing the business environment for cross-border trade. By cultivating new growth drivers and leveraging new productive forces, the city aims to stabilize its trade scale and optimize structural quality to empower high-quality development in foreign trade.