Business & IndustryAnalysis
Greater Bay Area Mainland Cities Post 20.7% Foreign Trade Surge
Strong private sector activity, surging imports, and closer trade ties with Hong Kong drove 6.27 trillion yuan in trade over the first seven months.
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The Brief
Foreign trade in the nine mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area expanded 20.7% year-on-year to 6.27 trillion yuan in the first seven months of the year, outperforming China's national trade growth by 3.4 percentage points. Customs data published by People's Daily showed imports jumped 38.1% while exports climbed 10.8%. Hong Kong overtook ASEAN as the region's largest trading partner, driven by robust cross-border activity and high-tech mechanical and electrical shipments.
Why it matters
The nine mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area contributed nearly a quarter of China's overall foreign trade growth in the first seven months, underscoring the Pearl River Delta's role as a primary engine for national economic stabilization and export upgrading.
China context
Faced with evolving external tariff risks and global demand shifts, policymakers are relying heavily on the Greater Bay Area's manufacturing base and private enterprise dynamism to anchor foreign trade. Closer economic integration with Hong Kong provides critical financial, logistics, and re-export channels to maintain external trade momentum.
Editor's View
EDITOR'S VIEW — Analysis and inference, not factual reporting.
The 38.1% surge in imports across the Greater Bay Area mainland cities—outpacing export growth by more than 27 percentage points—indicates both strong domestic industrial demand for components and raw materials and an active role in regional intermediate goods processing. Meanwhile, the rapid 48.2% expansion in trade with Hong Kong highlights deepening supply chain interdependence across the boundary, reinforcing the Greater Bay Area's position as China's most connected trading corridor.
What to watch
- Whether the region can sustain its 18-month streak of monthly foreign trade expansion through the second half of the year.
- Further policy measures to streamline cross-border clearance, logistics, and offshore trade between Guangdong mainland municipalities and Hong Kong.
- The ongoing resilience of private-sector exporters amidst shifting international demand and trade barrier developments.
Key Takeaways
- 1Trade across the nine mainland GBA cities totaled 6.27 trillion yuan in the first seven months, up 20.7% year-on-year.
- 2The nine cities accounted for 20.8% of China's total foreign trade and drove 24.2% of national trade growth.
- 3Imports surged 38.1% to 2.59 trillion yuan, outpacing export growth of 10.8%.
- 4Hong Kong surpassed ASEAN as the top trading partner for the nine cities, with trade jumping 48.2% to 976.54 billion yuan.
- 5Private firms generated 67.6% of the region's trade, with trade value rising 27% to 4.24 trillion yuan.
Foreign trade across the nine mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area rose 20.7% year-on-year to reach 6.27 trillion yuan ($875 billion) during the first seven months of the year, according to customs data reported by People's Daily. The expansion outpaced China's overall national trade growth by 3.4 percentage points, elevating the region's share of total national foreign trade to 20.8% and contributing 24.2% to nationwide trade growth over the period.
The region's total exports climbed 10.8% to 3.68 trillion yuan, while imports experienced a rapid acceleration, surging 38.1% to 2.59 trillion yuan. In July alone, trade across the nine municipalities totaled 973.12 billion yuan, up 19.3% year-on-year and marking the 18th consecutive month of year-on-year growth for the region.
Private enterprises served as the primary growth driver. Between January and July, approximately 173,000 enterprises in the nine cities engaged in foreign trade, representing a 35% increase compared to the prior year. Private firms accounted for 152,000 of these active traders—a 40.8% increase—generating 4.24 trillion yuan in imports and exports. This represented a 27% increase year-on-year and accounted for 67.6% of the nine cities' combined trade volume.
Trade destination patterns also shifted, with Hong Kong surpassing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to become the region's largest trading partner. Total bilateral trade between the nine mainland cities and Hong Kong reached 976.54 billion yuan in the seven-month period, expanding by 48.2% year-on-year to mark the fastest growth among all major trading partners.
High-value manufacturing continues to dominate export composition. Mechanical and electrical product shipments rose 15.2% year-on-year to 2.63 trillion yuan, representing 71.7% of total exports from the nine mainland cities, an increase of 2.7 percentage points in overall export share.
Sources
- 粤港澳大湾区内地9市外贸增长超两成 --经济·科技--人民网 — People's Daily · 8/12/2026