Inter-provincial sales of advanced manufacturing surge in first 8 months, with IC up over 59%

September 23 — The State Taxation Administration released data on Monday showing steady growth in China's interprovincial trade during the first eight months of this year. Key highlights include strong external sales radiation from major regions, steady expansion in transportation, logistics, and information services, and accelerated interprovincial flows in advanced manufacturing.

Interprovincial Trade Growth and Regional Radiation

In the January–August period, national interprovincial trade sales revenue increased by 1.3% year-on-year, accounting for 41.4% of total sales revenue — up 0.5 percentage points from the same period last year.

Among China's 31 provincial-level regions, 20 provinces recorded positive year-on-year growth in interprovincial sales, representing a growth coverage rate of 64.5%.

Sales revenue from key regions to areas outside their own jurisdictions grew notably. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta saw external sales revenue rise by 1.6% and 1.8% year-on-year, respectively — both exceeding the national average for interprovincial trade growth.

Yuan Shuai, Deputy Secretary-General of the Zhongguancun Internet of Things Industry Alliance, told Securities Daily that the steady growth in interprovincial trade reflects the strengthening endogenous momentum of China's domestic economic cycle. He noted that economic ties between regions are becoming closer, with increasing industrial interdependence and market connectivity. The significant radiation effect of key regions indicates that highly industrialized areas such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and the Yangtze River Delta are not only growth poles for their own economies but also serve as engines driving coordinated development in surrounding and broader regions.

Yang Changlong, Senior Investment Advisor at Shaanxi Jufeng Investment Information Co., Ltd., commented to Securities Daily: "The steady growth of interprovincial trade reflects the continued advancement of a unified national market, further weakening of regional market barriers, and ongoing recovery in cross-regional corporate procurement and sales activities. More market entities are engaging in cross-provincial operations, and cross-regional supply-demand linkages among domestic industries continue to improve."

Transportation, Logistics, and Information Services

Cross-provincial transportation, logistics, and information services grew steadily, contributing to lower cross-regional transaction costs.

• Transportation, warehousing, and postal services: Interprovincial sales revenue rose 8.2% year-on-year.
• Multimodal transport: Interprovincial sales revenue increased by 9.5% year-on-year, indicating enhanced transport capacity driven by new business models and formats.
• Information services: National cross-provincial information exchange accelerated, with interprovincial sales revenue surging 41.1% year-on-year.

Cross-Provincial Sales and Advanced Manufacturing Flows

Cross-Provincial Sales Growth

In the first eight months, the number of tax-registered business entities engaged in cross-provincial sales increased by 10.7% year-on-year, accounting for 56.5% of all entities with sales activities — up 1.9 percentage points from the same period last year.

Accelerated Interprovincial Flows in Advanced Manufacturing

Advanced manufacturing sectors actively participated in the domestic economic cycle, with significant growth in interprovincial sales revenue:

• Integrated circuits: +59.3% year-on-year
• Lithium-ion batteries: +59.7% year-on-year
• Intelligent vehicle equipment: +39% year-on-year
• Electronic specialty materials: +74.3% year-on-year

Song Xiangqing, Vice President of the China Business Economics Society, told Securities Daily that the accelerated interprovincial flows in advanced manufacturing reflect a deepening of regional industrial division and collaboration. Leveraging the domestic economic cycle, regions are engaging in cross-regional coordination based on resource endowments and industrial foundations. The circulation efficiency of production factors, intermediate goods, and final products across provinces continues to improve, while market barriers are gradually being dismantled.

Yuan Shuai noted that in the past, production links in many advanced manufacturing sectors were often concentrated in a few industrially strong regions, with relatively limited supply chain radii. Now, interprovincial factor flows are becoming increasingly smooth, enabling complementary industrial advantages across regions. The industrial coordination in advanced manufacturing is evolving from localized linkages to a nationwide networked collaboration model.

Outlook for Advanced Manufacturing

Song Xiangqing believes that faster interprovincial circulation will help upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain expand their market reach, reduce regional matching costs, and drive order growth. High-growth sectors such as integrated circuits and electronic specialty materials can leverage cross-regional trade to connect with more downstream clients, accelerating the large-scale deployment of technological products. This will also push companies to continuously refine technology, control costs, and enhance product competitiveness, while accelerating the concentration of high-quality production capacity in regions with strong technological and supporting advantages — ultimately helping to upgrade and improve the overall quality of advanced manufacturing.