On July 29, the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province held a meeting on the province's commerce and open economy performance in the first half of 2026. During this period, Hunan's import and export value amounted to 295.81 billion CNY, up 12.7%. Among them, exports reached 168.67 billion CNY, up 5.2%, and imports rose 24.3% to 127.14 billion CNY. Yiyang, Xiangtan, Xiangxi, Loudi, and Zhuzhou saw relatively rapid growth in imports and exports.

"In the first half of the year, Xiangtan's exports doubled year on year, reaching 12.9 billion CNY, and showing the fastest growth rate among all the 13 cities and one prefecture across the province. Exports of the "new three" products amounted to 1.26 billion CNY, with a nearly 36-fold increase," said Li Xin, Party secretary of the Xiangtan Municipal Bureau of Commerce. He added that Xiangtan is committed to tapping into existing resources, comprehensively sorting more than 100 foreign-funded enterprises in the city to identify key enterprises with potential for profit reinvestment and capacity expansion, proactively providing front-line services.

In terms of consumption, several sectors stood out with notable performance. The retail sales of cultural and office supplies rose 11%, while those of new energy vehicles grew 11%. Smart and healthy consumption is becoming a new trend, with retail sales of smart wearable devices soaring 44.9%.

Wu Lian, public affairs director for the Hunan-Jiangxi-Fujian Region at the Hema (China) Co., Ltd., also known as Freshippo, said that Hema has been deeply involved in Hunan's pro-consumption initiatives, with particularly strong growth in summer beverage and foodservice sectors, as well as daily fresh food. Currently, Hema has opened 15 large stores and 23 forward warehouses within the province, achieving full coverage across Changsha.

In terms of investment attraction, Hunan utilized foreign capital totaling 10.77 billion CNY, of which foreign direct investment (FDI) reached 2.46 billion CNY and foreign indirect investment stood at 8.31 billion CNY. Changsha, Chenzhou, and Xiangtan ranked top three province-wide in total utilization of foreign capital. Returned Hunan entrepreneurs invested in 537 newly registered companies, with cumulative paid-in capital reaching 73.31 billion CNY.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.
 
Translator: Pang Yuehui
 
Chinese source: Voice of Hunan