Foreign trade in Guangdong totalled 3.49 trillion yuan (US$513.91 billion) between January and April of this year, up 18.4 percent year-on-year. That’s according to Guangdong Customs data cited by Chinese media outlets. 

Exports over the four-month period reached a value of 2.06 trillion yuan (US$303.34 billion), an increase of 11.4 percent over the previous year. Meanwhile, imports totalled 1.43 trillion yuan (US$210.57 billion), a surge of 30.1 percent. 

Compared to the national average, Guangdong’s foreign trade grew at a rate 3.5 percent faster. 

The province also made up around 21.5 percent of China’s total trade volume in the first four months, a jump of 0.6 percent year-on-year. The region contributed significantly to the growth of foreign trade in the country over that period, accounting for 25.8 percent of the total. 

By markets, ASEAN was Guangdong’s top trading partner, with trade between the two partners hitting 540.55 billion yuan (US$79.59 billion), up 10.8 percent year-on-year. In second and third place were Hong Kong (the SAR is classed for statistical purposes as an external territory) and the EU. They registered double digit growth of 40.5 percent (521.4 billion yuan, US$76.77 billion) and 10.4 percent (379.85 billion yuan, US$55.93 billion) respectively. 

Trade with Japan and South Korea also grew by over 30 percent in the first four months, reaching 34.3 percent and 30.4 percent respectively. 

Guangdong’s trade with other partners experienced significant growth as well, with Australia (+51.4 percent), the five Central Asian countries (+24.1 percent), Africa (+21.4 percent) and India (+19 percent) all recording a trade increase above the provincial average.

Private businesses were the key driver of trade in Guangdong, accounting for 66.8 percent (2.33 trillion yuan) of the province’s total exports and imports between January and April. During this period, these enterprises were the fastest developing segment of the economy in terms of trade, with a year-on-year rise of 24 percent or 5.6 percent higher than Guangdong’s average growth rate. 

Foreign-backed firms in Guangdong also witnessed robust trade in the initial four months of this year, recording a trade total of 1.04 trillion yuan (US$153.14 billion) in the first four months. This number represents a rise of 12.4 percent over the previous year and marks a contribution of 29.8 percent to the province’s overall trade capacity. 

In terms of exports, Guangdong’s high value-added electronic products and new technologies saw strong growth. Official data shows the province exporting 1.45 trillion yuan (US$213.51 billion) in machines and electronic products in the inaugural four months of 2026, up 15.7 percent year-on-year. Such items accounted for 70.4 percent of Guangdong’s total exports during this period, a rise of 2.6 percent year-on-year. 

Some of the major products that were shipped overseas included 3D printers, which experienced a growth of 123.3 percent, as well as digital cameras, lithium-ion batteries, drones and ships, which recorded a trade rise of 74.7 percent, 53.9 percent, 34.2 percent and 56.4 percent respectively. 

Meanwhile, electronics and machinery accounted for 67.1 percent of Guangdong’s imports in the first four months, reaching a total value of 955.96 billion yuan (US$140.76 billion), an increase of 24.9 percent year-on-year. Imported products included integrated circuits, which hit a figure of 541.6 billion yuan (US$79.75 billion, +37.7 percent), and computer parts, which totalled 106.9 billion yuan (US$15.74 billion, +310 percent).