A drone photo taken on Dec. 10, 2025 shows China-Europe freight trains preparing to depart from the Manzhouli railway station in Manzhouli, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Photo by Huang Xu/Xinhua)
BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua Silk Road) -- From new shipping routes accelerating global connectivity and new business models continuously building momentum, to new policies deepening institutional opening up, China's foreign trade has demonstrated robust and dynamic growth across multiple dimensions at the start of 2026.
Experts interviewed noted that, supported by simultaneous progress in market diversification, institutional opening-up, and trade facilitation measures, China's foreign trade in 2026 is expected to maintain a development trend characterized by stability, quality improvement, and structural optimization. Its resilience and potential will continue to be unleashed, while the contributions of high-technology, high-value-added, green, and service trade sectors are set to rise further.
-- New shipping routes launched in succession, boosting speed in foreign trade logistics
At the start of the new year, new foreign trade shipping routes have been launched successively in multiple regions. The significant improvement in logistics transit times provides direct impetus for trade growth.
On January 4, the MSC Jesenia R, the inaugural vessel to operate the new Australia direct service, berthed at Qingdao's Qianwan Container Terminal, marking the official launch of Qingdao Port's first new foreign trade route for 2026.
"At present, Qingdao Port operates six direct routes to Australia. The launch of this new service further strengthens the layout of Qingdao Port's RCEP route network. As an international shipping hub in Northeast Asia, Qingdao Port maintains the highest total number of shipping routes among ports in northern China, with its hub appeal and comprehensive service capabilities continuously strengthening," said Zhang Baohua, general manager of Qingdao Port International Co., Ltd.
On January 5, the "Thailand Silk Road Express," Shanghai Port's first premium foreign trade shipping route, commenced its maiden voyage. The route guarantees a direct seven-day sailing time to Laem Chabang and provides enterprises with high schedule reliability measured to the hour and top-tier support services.
On January 7, the Ezhou-Athens international cargo route, the first new air link launched in 2026 at Hubei's Ezhou Huahu International Airport, officially began operations. The route provides an annual air cargo capacity of 20,000 tons, with cross-border e-commerce goods making up 90 percent of its outbound shipments.
The recent expansion of premium routes and inland express lines aims to build a more efficient and coordinated logistics system, said Chen Li, chief economist at Chuancai Securities. This effort not only strengthens the "major arteries"of international shipping routes but also opens up the "capillaries" of inland regions through multimodal transport, effectively extending port services further inland.
-- New business models thrive, led by digital trade
While the intensive launch of new shipping routes solidifies the "hard" infrastructure supporting foreign trade logistics, the vigorous rise of new business models such as digital trade injects "soft" impetus into the growth of foreign trade.
As a core platform for Hainan's digital economy, the Haikou Fullsing Internet Industrial Park has recently signed agreements with over 50 key enterprises, covering sectors such as international data, artificial intelligence, and cross-border e-commerce. As of now, the park has registered more than 10,000 enterprises, with digital trade companies accounting for over 50 percent.
Li Ke, secretary-general of the Hainan Digital Trade Association, explained that the association is proactively establishing digital content distribution channels targeting ASEAN and assisting enterprises in connecting with local partners to avoid isolated, uncoordinated efforts.
Industry experts believe that digital trade is not a simple replacement for traditional foreign trade, but rather, supported by multiple factors such as institutions, technology and markets, it opens up new growth avenues for foreign trade.
Driven by both policy and market forces, the growth prospects for digital trade are becoming increasingly clear. The Hainan Digital Trade Association forecasts that in 2026, Hainan's core revenue related to digital trade is expected to steadily approach 8 billion yuan. The number of enterprises in the sector is projected to grow by approximately 20 percent compared to the current level, with a notable increase in the proportion of export-oriented companies focusing on the ASEAN market.
-- New policies rolled out successively, advancing institutional opening up
From the central to local levels, a series of policies aimed at promoting high-quality foreign trade development were intensively implemented from late 2025 to early 2026, providing enterprises with a more stable and transparent institutional environment.
At the national level, the newly revised Foreign Trade Law, which will take effect on March 1, 2026, explicitly establishes a negative list management system for cross-border trade in services. It also codifies and institutionalizes support for new business models and formats, digital trade, and green trade.
At the local level, policy guidance increasingly emphasizes reducing costs and improving efficiency. Cities such as Shanghai and Weihai have successively introduced measures to support market diversification, cross-border e-commerce, and the development of overseas warehouses in line with the goal of high-quality foreign trade development.
Experts interviewed believe that although the external environment remains complex, the resilience of China's foreign trade stems from the combined strength of multiple advantages, including a complete industrial chain system, continuously improved logistics networks, steadily deepened institutional opening-up, and the accelerated growth of new drivers such as digital and green trade. (Edited by Yang Yifan with Xinhua Silk Road, yangyifan@xinhua.org)
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