China–Japan Trade Pulse
Imports into Japan from China were US$41.96bn in Q2 2026, down 4.1% on the same quarter of 2025. A quarterly read of Japan's official trade statistics for imports from China, as reported to the UN Comtrade database, in US dollars, published by Cambridge China Bridge. It updates when UN Comtrade publishes a new quarter.
Q2 2026, compared with Q2 2025
- Imports from China
- US$41.96bn
- Change on a year earlier
- −4.1%
- Product chapters traded
- 96
Data brief: Q2 2026
Imports into Japan from China were US$41.96bn in Q2 2026, down 4.1% (US$1.77bn) on Q2 2025.
Top 3 rising headings
- Compounds, inorganic or organic, of rare-earth metals (HS 2846): US$73m, up 286.0% from US$19m
- Acyclic hydrocarbons (HS 2901): US$37m, up 243.8% from US$11m
- Cyclic hydrocarbons (HS 2902): US$42m, up 212.0% from US$13m
Top 3 falling headings
- Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, not crude (HS 2710): US$41m, down 85.8% from US$289m
- Electric generating sets and rotary converters (HS 8502): US$16m, down 71.7% from US$58m
- Stainless steel (HS 7219): US$28m, down 59.8% from US$69m
Headings (HS4) worth at least US$10m in both quarters.
Among these six headings, value per kg runs from US$1.16 for Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, not crude to US$46.03 for Compounds, inorganic or organic, of rare-earth metals. Why US$ per kg matters →
Cite as: Cambridge China Bridge, "China–Japan Trade Pulse", Q2 2026, https://camchinabridge.co.uk/china-trade-pulse/japan/briefs/2026-q2/. Source: UN Comtrade Database; quarterly totals, changes and value per kg calculated by Cambridge China Bridge. Open data:https://github.com/bonoxu/camchinabridge-open-data
What stands out
- Imports into Japan from China were US$41.96bn in Q2 2026, down 4.1% on the same quarter of 2025.
- That ranks 5 of 8 Q2 totals since 2019.
- Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof was the largest chapter at US$9.13bn.
- The fastest-rising large heading was Compounds, inorganic or organic, of rare-earth metals, up 286.0% to US$73m.
- The steepest fall was Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, not crude, down 85.8% to US$41m.
- Among the largest chapters, value per kg runs from US$2.63 for Iron or steel articles to US$54.55 for Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, medical…
How to read this
- Figures are imports from China as recorded by the importing country's customs: for the United States as published by the US Census Bureau, for the other countries as reported to the UN Comtrade database. All values are in US dollars.
- China means mainland China. Goods shipped from Hong Kong, Macau or a third country, or assembled there, count under those places, so the figures show direct trade, not every product made in China.
- Each quarter is the sum of three published months and is compared with the same quarter a year earlier, so seasonal patterns (Chinese New Year, the run-up to Christmas) do not show as rises or falls.
- A heading only counts as a mover when it was large in both quarters; the threshold is stated under each table.
- Value per kg is value divided by weight. It is shown only where weighed shipments carry at least 90% of a line's value, ranks products, and is not a freight rate.
Every quarter since 2019
Across 2025 as a whole, imports into Japan from China were US$176.10bn, up 6.7% on 2024 and up 5.1% on 2019.
| Year | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Full year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | US$41.48bn | US$40.35bn | US$42.88bn | US$42.92bn | US$167.63bn |
| 2020 | US$35.07bn | US$42.71bn | US$39.30bn | US$45.48bn | US$162.56bn |
| 2021 | US$44.58bn | US$45.07bn | US$45.37bn | US$48.77bn | US$183.79bn |
| 2022 | US$47.30bn | US$44.50bn | US$48.01bn | US$46.96bn | US$186.78bn |
| 2023 | US$45.19bn | US$41.38bn | US$41.12bn | US$44.06bn | US$171.75bn |
| 2024 | US$38.74bn | US$39.27bn | US$41.94bn | US$45.12bn | US$165.07bn |
| 2025 | US$41.81bn | US$43.73bn | US$43.46bn | US$47.10bn | US$176.10bn |
| 2026 | US$45.86bn | US$41.96bn | – | – | – |
Quarterly totals on the same basis as the headline figure. A full-year total appears once all four quarters are published.
The largest product chapters
| Code | Product | Value | Change | US$ per kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof | US$9.13bn | −22.4% | US$35.13 |
| 84 | Machinery and mechanical appliances, boilers, nuclear reactors | US$6.14bn | −31.5% | US$12.96 |
| 39 | Plastics and articles thereof | US$2.44bn | +69.5% | US$3.87 |
| 87 | Vehicles | US$2.39bn | +57.7% | US$9.29 |
| 90 | Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, medical… | US$1.84bn | +38.3% | US$54.55 |
| 94 | Furniture | US$1.70bn | +32.6% | US$4.66 |
| 95 | Toys, games and sports requisites | US$1.67bn | −12.0% | US$19.21 |
| 73 | Iron or steel articles | US$1.48bn | +32.6% | US$2.63 |
| 16 | Meat, fish, crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates, or… | US$911m | +35.4% | US$5.06 |
| 29 | Organic chemicals | US$877m | −19.1% | US$2.80 |
| 61 | Apparel and clothing accessories | US$857m | −38.1% | US$19.21 |
| 76 | Aluminium and articles thereof | US$790m | +74.7% | US$4.92 |
Fastest-rising headings
| Code | Product | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2846 | Compounds, inorganic or organic, of rare-earth metals | US$73m | +286.0% |
| 2901 | Acyclic hydrocarbons | US$37m | +243.8% |
| 2902 | Cyclic hydrocarbons | US$42m | +212.0% |
| 4015 | Articles of apparel and clothing accessories (including gloves,… | US$93m | +206.5% |
| 3919 | Self-adhesive plates, sheets, film, foil, tape, strip and other flat… | US$119m | +199.9% |
| 8104 | Magnesium | US$45m | +181.9% |
| 3902 | Polymers of propylene or of other olefins, in primary forms | US$51m | +170.2% |
| 7410 | Copper foil (whether or not printed or backed with paper, paperboard,… | US$36m | +166.6% |
Steepest falls
| Code | Product | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2710 | Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, not crude | US$41m | −85.8% |
| 8502 | Electric generating sets and rotary converters | US$16m | −71.7% |
| 7219 | Stainless steel | US$28m | −59.8% |
| 8527 | Reception apparatus for radio-broadcasting, whether or not combined,… | US$11m | −59.2% |
| 2825 | Hydrazine and hydroxylamine and their inorganic salts | US$38m | −59.1% |
| 9504 | Video game consoles and machines, articles for funfair, table or… | US$468m | −56.1% |
| 6103 | Suits, ensembles, jackets, blazers, trousers, bib and brace overalls,… | US$34m | −55.2% |
| 8510 | Shavers, hair clippers and hair removing appliances, with… | US$23m | −52.2% |
Headings (HS4) worth at least US$10m in both quarters.
Why US$ per kg matters
Freight is charged on space, so low-value, bulky goods are hard to bring in by part-container load without the landed cost rising sharply, while high-value, dense goods absorb freight easily. Value per kilogram is a quick way to see which of the goods Japan imports from China suit small trial orders and which reward full containers. A dash means the source gives too little weight data for that line.
Other countries
- United States US$63.27bn, +3.7%
- Canada US$16.12bn, −7.3%
- Australia US$23.12bn, +17.5%
- New Zealand US$2.89bn, +19.6%
- India US$42.31bn, +20.0%
Method and sources
- Source: United Nations, UN Comtrade Database, monthly commodity trade (HS): reporter Japan, partner China, imports, through the UN Comtrade API. Totals across all customs procedures and transport modes.
- Values are UN Comtrade's primary value for imports, in US dollars as UN Comtrade publishes them (converted from the reporter's own currency by the United Nations). Quarterly totals, changes on a year earlier, rankings and value per kg are calculated by Cambridge China Bridge from the monthly figures. Chapters 98 and 99, reserved for national use, are excluded.
- Value per kg divides value by net weight, summed from the six-digit subheadings that carry a weight. It is shown only where those subheadings carry at least 90% of the line's value; some countries report few weights, so their pages show more dashes.
- Countries report to UN Comtrade some weeks or months after each month ends and may revise their figures; the page is rebuilt monthly and always shows the latest figures published.
Source: United Nations, UN Comtrade Database (cited as "UN Comtrade"). The figures on this page are quarterly totals, changes and rankings calculated from UN Comtrade's monthly data by Cambridge China Bridge; they are not endorsed by the United Nations. Journalists and researchers may quote them with a link to this page.
Download the Japan figures (CSV)· Download the open dataset (GitHub)
Cite as: Cambridge China Bridge, "China–Japan Trade Pulse", Q2 2026, https://camchinabridge.co.uk/china-trade-pulse/japan/. Source: UN Comtrade Database; quarterly totals, changes and value per kg calculated by Cambridge China Bridge.
See also
Buying from China for a business in Japan?
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