Chongqing - Chongqing’s foreign trade surged 31.9% year on year to 481.23 billion yuan (approx. 71.03 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2026, outpacing the national growth rate by 15 percentage points. Rising memory-chip prices, strong automobile and knock-down kit exports, and overseas expansion by private firms, particularly motorcycle manufacturers, drove the increase.

Chongqing is the world’s largest laptop manufacturing base, producing one in every three laptops worldwide. Laptops have long been a pillar of the city’s foreign trade, once accounting for half of its total trade value at their peak. In recent years, however, exports have faced pressure from weaker global orders and industry-cycle adjustments.

Chongqing’s laptop exports rebounded sharply in H1 2026, rising 24.5% to 90.82 billion yuan. The increase was driven mainly by higher memory-chip prices rather than a rise in shipment volume.

Since last year, the growing demand for AI computing power has prompted manufacturers including Samsung and SK Hynix to shift substantial production capacity toward AI memory chips.

This reduced supplies of memory components for laptops and smartphones and pushed up prices. In H1 2026, retail prices for 16GB DDR5 memory modules and 1TB solid-state drives both rose by more than 130% from the same period in 2025.

Chongqing Customs District data also reflected this trend. The city imported 20.96-billion-yuan worth of memory chips in H1 2026, up 240%. Rising prices for key components increased the value of each laptop and lifted the total value of exports. The same trend was seen nationwide. From March to May, China’s average laptop export prices rose 27.2%, 25.3% and 19.7%, respectively.

As memory prices gradually decline, however, the export value per laptop may also come under pressure.

Knock-down kits fuel auto exports

Beyond laptops, automobiles are becoming another major source of growth for Chongqing’s foreign trade. The city exported 29.74-billion-yuan worth of automobiles in H1 2026, up 66.9%.

The increase was in line with the broader growth of China’s automobile exports. China has ranked as the world’s largest automobile exporter for several consecutive years. In H1 2026, national automobile exports exceeded 5 million units for the first time, reaching 5.096 million, up 65.3%. New energy vehicle exports reached 2.355 million units, up 120%.

Workers package automotive components at Great Wall Motor’s knock-down plant in Chongqing. (Photo/Zhang Jinhui)

Knock-down kits have become a new growth driver for Chongqing’s automobile exports. These kits involve dismantling vehicles into components for export. Compared with shipping complete vehicles, they improve container utilization, reduce logistics costs and allow automakers to assemble vehicles overseas, helping them meet the industrial policy requirements of some countries.

As overseas demand and local factory capacity expand, purchases of parts from China also increase, continuing to drive knock-down kit exports.

Changan Automobile, an automaker from Chongqing, provides one example. In H1 2026, more than 6,000 knock-down kits for the Changan Qiyuan Q05 model were exported along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, generating trade worth more than 200 million yuan. In 2025, Chongqing exported 80,300 automobile knock-down kits worth 6.04 billion yuan, with both figures doubling from the previous year.

An employee checks customer orders at an Aerobs factory in Chongqing. (Photo/Xie Zhiqiang)

Chongqing bikes gain ground abroad

Motorcycle exports also continued to grow as automobile exports accelerated. Chongqing exported 15.15-billion-yuan worth of motorcycles in H1 2026, up 13.4%. Nearly all the leading exporters in this sector were private companies.

Loncin, Zonsen, Yinxiang, Afari and Aerobs ranked among China’s top 10 motorcycle exporters, together accounting for half of Chongqing’s motorcycle exports.

ZXMOTO won six rounds of the World Superbike Championship, breaking the dominance of overseas brands and helping drive rapid growth in international orders. The company began exporting motorcycles to Europe in batches for the first time this year.

The motorcycle industry reflects the broader overseas expansion of Chongqing’s private companies. According to Chongqing Customs District, 5,616 companies recorded import or export activity in H1 2026, nearly 1,300 more than a year earlier. Private companies accounted for 230.56 billion yuan in trade, a record for the period and an increase of 30.3%, making them a key pillar of the city’s foreign trade.

Chongqing’s industrial strengths closely match overseas demand. Latin American markets have strong demand for automobiles, motorcycles, machinery, electrical products and hardware. African markets favor motorcycles, general-purpose machinery and agricultural equipment, while Central Asian markets purchase large volumes of automobiles and construction machinery. These are all areas in which Chongqing has a strong manufacturing base.

In H1 2026, Chongqing’s trade with Latin America, Africa and Central Asia reached 42.38 billion yuan, 20.55 billion yuan and 4.77 billion yuan, respectively. The figures rose 37.4%, 47.8% and 49.3% year on year, all faster than the city’s overall foreign trade growth.