Official GACC monthly series

China Trade Data 2018

Monthly exports, imports, trade balance, and year-to-date totals for China's goods trade.

Updated December 2018 Frequency Monthly Unit USD Source: GACC View dataset JSON API
China Trade Signals →

China recorded a $350.9B goods trade surplus in 2018.

Total trade reached $4.62T, up 12.5% from 2017. Exports were $2.49T and imports $2.14T.

2018 full year · USD

Total trade $4.62T YoY +12.5% (vs 2017)
Exports $2.49T YoY +9.9% (vs 2017)
Imports $2.14T YoY +15.8% (vs 2017)
Trade balance $350.9B YoY -16.4% (vs 2017)

Exports vs imports, 2018

Share
$0$121.7B$243.4BJanuary 2018 exports $199.5BJanuary 2018 imports $181.2BJan '18February 2018 exports $170.5BFebruary 2018 imports $138.3BMarch 2018 exports $173.9BMarch 2018 imports $179.7BMar '18April 2018 exports $198.9BApril 2018 imports $172.7BMay 2018 exports $211.6BMay 2018 imports $188.2BMay '18June 2018 exports $215.6BJune 2018 imports $174.7BJuly 2018 exports $214.4BJuly 2018 imports $186.9BJul '18August 2018 exports $216.9BAugust 2018 imports $190.7BSeptember 2018 exports $225.4BSeptember 2018 imports $195.1BSep '18October 2018 exports $214.8BOctober 2018 imports $181.8BNovember 2018 exports $224.3BNovember 2018 imports $182.4BNov '18December 2018 exports $220.8BDecember 2018 imports $164.1BExportsImports

China's top exports, imports and trading partners, Jan-Dec 2018 full year

Top export categories · Jan-Dec 2018 full year

Top 5 of 96 covered HS2 categories

Top export categories, Jan-Dec 2018 full year, ranked by trade value in USD
Category / partnerUSD
Electrical machinery and equipment (HS 85) →$664.0B
Machinery and mechanical appliances (HS 84) →$429.3B
Furniture; bedding; lamps (HS 94) →$95.4B
Plastics (HS 39) →$79.6B
Vehicles (HS 87) →$75.1B
Explore HS2 categories →

Top import categories · Jan-Dec 2018 full year

Top 5 of 96 covered HS2 categories

Top import categories, Jan-Dec 2018 full year, ranked by trade value in USD
Category / partnerUSD
Electrical machinery and equipment (HS 85) →$421.9B
Mineral fuels and oils (HS 27) →$349.4B
Machinery and mechanical appliances (HS 84) →$177.4B
Ores, slag and ash (HS 26) →$135.9B
Optical and precision instruments (HS 90) →$94.4B
Explore HS2 categories →

Top export destinations · Jan-Dec 2018 full year

Top 5 of 245 covered countries and territories

Top export destinations, Jan-Dec 2018 full year, ranked by trade value in USD
Category / partnerUSD
United States →$478.4B
Hong Kong →$302.1B
Japan →$147.0B
South Korea →$108.8B
Vietnam →$83.9B
Explore countries and territories →

Top import origins · Jan-Dec 2018 full year

Top 5 of 245 covered countries and territories

Top import origins, Jan-Dec 2018 full year, ranked by trade value in USD
Category / partnerUSD
South Korea →$204.6B
Japan →$180.7B
Taiwan →$177.6B
United States →$155.1B
Germany →$106.3B
Explore countries and territories →

Monthly trade summary

2018
Month Total Exports Imports Balance Total YoY
December 2018 Latest $384.9B $220.8B $164.1B $56.8B -5.9%
November 2018 $406.7B $224.3B $182.4B $41.9B +3.4%
October 2018 $396.5B $214.8B $181.8B $33.0B +17.0%
September 2018 $420.5B $225.4B $195.1B $30.3B +14.1%
August 2018 $407.6B $216.9B $190.7B $26.3B +14.5%
July 2018 $401.3B $214.4B $186.9B $27.5B +18.2%
June 2018 $390.3B $215.6B $174.7B $40.9B +12.1%
May 2018 $399.8B $211.6B $188.2B $23.4B +18.2%
April 2018 $371.7B $198.9B $172.7B $26.2B +16.5%
March 2018 $353.6B $173.9B $179.7B -$5.8B +5.3%
February 2018 $308.9B $170.5B $138.3B $32.2B +24.2%
January 2018 $380.6B $199.5B $181.2B $18.3B +22.0%

2018 full-year totals

Metric Full year 2018 (USD) YoY (vs 2017 same span)
Total trade $4.62T +12.5%
Exports $2.49T +9.9%
Imports $2.14T +15.8%
Trade balance $350.9B -16.4%

Continue exploring

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Monthly trade dataset Sources and coverage API documentation

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China–US trade China–Japan trade China–Germany trade
Source

Source

Source: General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC) monthly import and export statistics; last verified 2026-10-27.

Citation

Citation

China Data Portal, "China Trade Data 2018", https://chinadata.live/china-trade/2018/ Data as of December 2018. Source: General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC) monthly import and export statistics. Accessed 2026-10-27.

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