China will gradually introduce a consumption tax on lithium and lithium-ion batteries, as well as solar cells, which have been exempt from taxation since 2015, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Mercury-free, nickel-metal hydride, lithium, and lithium-ion batteries, as well as vanadium flow batteries, will be taxed at a rate of 2% starting September 1, 2026. Starting in September 2027, the rate will increase to 4%.
For photovoltaic, or solar, cells, a 2% tax will take effect on April 1, 2027, and will also be raised to 4% starting in April 2028.
The new rules were announced by China’s Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Taxation Administration.
The introduction of the tax could increase the production costs of batteries and solar cells in China. If manufacturers pass on the additional costs entirely to buyers, selling prices could rise by approximately 2% in the initial phase and up to 4% once the rate is fully implemented.
However, the actual price increase will depend on competition, corporate profitability, and contracts with buyers. Chinese manufacturers may absorb part of the costs themselves to avoid losing market share in both domestic and foreign markets.
The changes will potentially affect the cost of electric vehicles, energy storage systems, and solar power plants, as batteries and photovoltaic modules are among the key components of such projects. At the same time, due to the high proportion of other costs, the price of a finished electric vehicle or solar power plant will not necessarily increase by the full 4%.
Some promising technologies will remain temporarily exempt from the tax until December 2028. These include sodium-ion and solid-state batteries, fuel cells, as well as perovskite, tandem, and gallium arsenide solar cells.
China currently levies a 4% consumption tax on most battery products. At the same time, lithium and lithium-ion batteries, as well as solar and fuel cells, have been exempt since 2015.
This policy has facilitated rapid expansion of production capacity and helped Chinese companies become global leaders. However, the excess supply has simultaneously intensified price competition and reduced profitability for some manufacturers.
Analysts at Citic Securities estimate that the tax changes could generate an additional 45 billion yuan, or about $6.6 billion, in revenue for the Chinese government.
Following the announcement of the new rules, shares of solar cell manufacturer Longi Green Energy Technology rose 2.1%, JinkoSolar’s rose 4%, and those of CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer, rose 4.6%.
The largest suppliers of beer to China in the first half of 2026 were Germany ($53.2 million), the Netherlands ($45.8 million), and Spain ($41.5 million), according to data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) of the People’s Republic of China.
From January through June, China imported beer from 54 countries, while exporting its own beer to more than 100 countries worldwide.
The volume of tractor imports to Ukraine in January–June 2026 totaled $434.7 million, up 3.2% from the same period in 2025 ($421 million), according to statistics from the State Customs Service.
According to the published statistics, tractor imports in June rose by 14.4% compared to June of last year and by 11% compared to May of this year, reaching $72.7 million.
From January through June 2026, tractors were imported primarily from Germany (19.4%, or $84.3 million), China (19.16%, or $83.3 million), and the United States (nearly 18.4%, or $79.9 million), whereas last year the United States was the leader ($79.71 million), China was second ($73.8 million), and Germany ranked third ($73.1 million).
According to statistics from the State Customs Service, tractor exports totaled $4.93 million in the first half of the year, mostly to Belgium (25.3%), while last year’s exports amounted to $2.93 million, with the majority of shipments going to Romania (38%).
As previously reported, tractor imports into Ukraine in 2025 totaled $845.7 million, a 7.9% increase over the 2024 figure; the main suppliers were the United States ($179.7 million), Germany ($145 million), and China ($142.8 million).
Exports totaled $6.6 million, compared to $5.4 million in 2024, with the majority going to Romania, Belgium, and Germany.
In January–June of this year, Ukraine reduced its imports of aluminum ores and concentrates (bauxite) by 47.1% in volume terms compared to the same period last year—down to 7,198 thousand metric tons from 13,606 thousand metric tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), bauxite imports in monetary terms decreased to $1.402 million from $1.569 million in January–June 2026.
Imports came from China (65.62% of shipments in monetary terms) and Turkey (34.38%).
In addition, Ukraine shipped 45 metric tons of bauxite worth $10,000 to Poland in May, while Ukraine did not re-export any bauxite in 2025.
As previously reported, in 2025, Ukraine increased its imports of aluminum ores and concentrates by 23.7% in volume compared to the previous year—to 43.5 thousand metric tons—and by 15.8% in value, to $4.754 million. These imports came primarily from Turkey (81.84% of shipments in monetary terms), China (15.97%), and Guyana (2.19%).
Ukraine did not re-export bauxite in 2025, just as it did not in 2024 and 2023.
In 2024, Ukraine increased its imports of bauxite by 77.4% in volume terms compared to 2023—to 35,173 thousand metric tons—and by 74% in value terms—to $4.107 million. Imports came primarily from Turkey (78.48% of shipments in monetary terms), China (19.48%), and Spain (1.9%).
Bauxite is an aluminum ore used as a raw material for producing alumina, which is then used to produce aluminum. They are also used as fluxes in ferrous metallurgy.
Bauxite is imported into Ukraine, in particular, by the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant (MGP), which is currently idle.
In January–June of this year, Ukraine’s mining companies reduced their exports of iron ore raw materials (IORM) by 25.4% in volume terms compared to the same period last year—down to 12 million 33.825 thousand metric tons from 16 million 137.809 thousand metric tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), 2,021,299 metric tons of iron ore were exported in June, 2,239,167 metric tons in May, 2,163,837 metric tons in April, in March—2,300,467 thousand metric tons, in February—1,254,516 thousand metric tons, and in January—2,054,539 thousand metric tons.
During the first six months of the year, foreign exchange earnings from raw material exports decreased by 26.3% to $935.258 million.
Mineral resources were exported primarily to China (42.36% of shipments in monetary terms), Slovakia (18.50%), and Poland (14.13%).
In addition, in January–June 2026, Ukraine imported 224 metric tons of raw materials worth $62,000 from the Netherlands (38.71%), Poland (32.26%), and Italy (29.03%), whereas in January–June 2025, it imported 75,000 metric tons worth $52,000.
As previously reported, Ukraine’s mining companies reduced ore exports in physical terms by 8% in 2025 compared to the previous year—to 30,995,363 metric tons from 33,699,722 metric tons, and foreign exchange revenue decreased by 16.6%—to $2 billion 337.765 million from $2 billion 803.223 million. Exports were primarily shipped to China (44.98% of shipments by value), Slovakia (17.15%), and Poland (16.09%).
In addition, in 2025, Ukraine imported 130 metric tons of raw materials worth $95 thousand from the Netherlands (46.32%), Italy (36.84%), and Norway (13.68%), whereas the previous year it imported 2,042 thousand metric tons worth $414 thousand
China’s exports rose by 27% year-on-year in June to $412.39 billion, while imports increased by 36% to $286.76 billion, according to data from the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China.
Export growth was the highest since the beginning of the current year, while import growth was the highest since June 2021. In both cases, an all-time record in terms of volume was recorded. Experts Club also notes that the June figures exceeded market expectations: analysts had on average forecast export growth of 18.2% and import growth of 24%.
China’s foreign trade surplus amounted to $125.6 billion in June, compared with $113.9 billion in the same period of 2025.
China’s exports to Japan rose by 6.9% last month, to South Korea by 42.6%, to the United States by 13.9%, to Australia by 29.8%, to ASEAN countries by 34.6%, and to European Union countries by 18.5%.
Imports from Japan increased by 33.9%, from South Korea by 85%, from Australia by 65.8%, from ASEAN by 26.8%, from the EU by 9.2%, and from the United States by 25.9%.
According to Chinese customs statistics, trade turnover between China and Russia increased by 25.6% in the first half of 2026 to $134.175 billion. Chinese exports to Russia rose by 28.4% to $60.597 billion, while imports from Russia increased by 23.3% to $73.578 billion. In June, trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $24.351 billion, including Chinese exports to Russia of $11.432 billion and imports from Russia of $12.919 billion.
The Chinese side publishes trade data broken down by countries and regions in the statistical tables of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, while the information database of China’s Ministry of Commerce indicates that the source of these data is Chinese customs.
Data on Ukraine were not separately highlighted among the largest destinations in the operational Chinese press release. At the same time, according to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, China remains the largest source of Ukrainian imports: in January–June 2026, Ukraine imported goods worth $13.9 billion from China. The largest markets for Ukrainian exports during this period were Poland, Türkiye and Italy.
In the first half of 2026, China’s foreign trade surplus amounted to $575.98 billion, compared with $586 billion a year earlier. Exports rose by 17.6% to $2.12 trillion, while imports increased by 26.6% to $1.55 trillion.
By commodity category, China increased coal imports by 29% and natural gas imports by 3.7% in June, while oil imports fell by 41.3% to their lowest level in almost a decade. China also increased overseas purchases of soybeans by 10.5%, iron ore by 6.4%, and steel by 6.6%.
Reuters attributes the strong performance of China’s foreign trade to high demand for products related to artificial intelligence, semiconductors and computing equipment. At the same time, the agency notes that exports remain an important source of support for the Chinese economy amid weak domestic demand and problems in the real estate sector.
