In the first half of 2026, the total import and export value of Hebei's foreign trade reached 386.03 billion yuan, setting a new historical high for the same period. The year-on-year growth rate of 33.2% was 16.3 percentage points higher than the national average, ranking fourth in the country. Behind this impressive performance report is the multiple forces of industry, channels, and market, jointly supporting the stable and high-quality improvement of Hebei's foreign trade volume at the beginning of the 15th Five Year Plan.

New Three Types Run Explosive Growth

Outside the warehouse of Yuanjing Power Cangzhou Base, batches of power batteries are ready to go out to sea. This factory, which will be put into operation in 2024, has set an industry record for mass production and export, with exports skyrocketing by 1300% year-on-year in the first half of the year. The enterprise has laid out the track of energy storage cells with a capacity of over 700 ampere hours in advance, and achieved large-scale production of 46 series large cylindrical batteries in June, directly supporting BMW's pure electric platform.

The integrated energy system of wind solar hydrogen ammonia storage, charging, and discharging, combined with the Cangdong National Zero Carbon Park, enables the full process carbon footprint of each battery to be traced, accurately matching the low-carbon requirements of overseas customers. In the first half of the year, the total export of new three types in Hebei Province was 16.64 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.3%. Among them, the export of lithium-ion batteries was 2.12 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.7 times. The export of wind turbines and parts, and industrial robots increased by 141.6% and 541.7% respectively.

Expanding the boundary between logistics and market in both directions

As the hub with the largest scale of international train services in North China, Shijiazhuang International Land Port operated 814 international trains in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 42.06%, and sent over 80000 TEUs worth 7.116 billion yuan of goods to various parts of Asia and Europe. The return train synchronously transported 780000 tons of bulk raw materials such as feed wheat flour and polypropylene with a value of 3.04 billion yuan, achieving a virtuous cycle of two-way circulation.

In terms of market layout, ASEAN has become the largest trading partner of Hebei, with imports and exports to Africa increasing by 88.3% year on year, and imports and exports to countries jointly building the the Belt and Road accounted for 65.3% of the province's total value. The industrial product live streaming cross-border e-commerce model covering all counties and cities has promoted over 9000 industrial enterprises to directly connect with overseas customers, effectively reducing dependence on traditional markets.

In the first half of the year, Hebei's imports exceeded 150 billion yuan for the first time, further enhancing the balance of foreign trade development. The growth momentum of Hebei's foreign trade is continuously iterating and upgrading, from the export of hard core manufactured products, to the support of international logistics channels, and to the deep expansion of the global market.Editor/Cheng Liting