China-CEEC trade rises 11% in first half, customs data shows

Trade between China and Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) rose 11% year on year to 580.12 billion yuan (US$85.57 billion) in the first half of this year, continuing a 10-year run of growth, a customs official said Tuesday.

On July 14, 2026, the State Council Information Office (SCIO) holds a press conference in Beijing on China's import and export of the first half of 2026. [Photo by Liu Jian/China SCIO]

The six-month total was 3.7 times the trade value recorded in the first half of 2012, said Lyu Daliang, spokesperson of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) and director general of the Department of Statistics and Analysis of the GACC, at a press conference.

Lyu said Chinese investment in the region has increasingly driven bilateral trade. Chinese companies have established vehicle production and research facilities in countries including Serbia and Poland, as well as several battery plants in Hungary in recent years.

Trade in vehicles and auto parts between China and CEEC totaled 59.53 billion yuan in the first half, while trade in lithium-ion batteries reached 30.01 billion yuan.

Cooperation has also expanded into artificial intelligence, as Chinese companies and Serbia are jointly developing a humanoid robot production facility, Lyu said.

Infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative have also boosted trade by improving regional connectivity. Several projects undertaken by Chinese companies in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other countries recently began construction, increasing demand for related Chinese products.

China's exports associated with overseas contracted projects in the region more than doubled in the first half. Exports of construction machinery and rail transit equipment rose 22.3% and 57.3%, respectively.

Serbian merchants promote their fruit wine at the 4th China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair in Ningbo, eastern China's Zhejiang province, May 22, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] 

The agricultural and food trade also recorded strong growth as the two sides stepped up cooperation on animal and plant quarantine and food safety. More than 130 agricultural and food products from CEEC have been approved for import into China.

Bilateral agricultural trade reached 7.58 billion yuan in the first half, up 16.2% from a year earlier. China's agricultural imports from the region increased 34.8%, with imports of cocoa products and aquatic products surging 57.6% and 36.8%, respectively.

China's agricultural exports to the region grew 11.8%. Walnut exports increased 28.3%, while pet food exports rose 13.7%.

China's customs authorities established the China-CEEC Customs Information Center in April 2021 under the China-CEEC cooperation framework. Over the past five years, customs authorities on both sides have exchanged policy information, monitored trade risks, and provided advisory services to improve trade security and customs clearance.

"We will continue to strengthen cooperation with our counterparts in CEEC and promote the steady and sustained development of economic and trade ties," Lyu said.