Record Electronics Shipments to China Push Total Exports to New Highs
Preliminary data released by Vietnam's Customs Department shows that exports of electronics — defined as the grouping of computers, electronic products and their components — destined for China reached almost $6 billion in September, marking the strongest monthly figure on record. That figure was roughly double the August total and stood at nearly four times the level recorded in the same month of 2025.
The surge lifted Vietnam's overall export bill to China to close to $11.7 billion in September, a 36 per cent jump from the previous month and also an all-time high. Prior to September, no single month had seen trade value with the Chinese market exceed $9 billion.
Of the approximately $3.1 billion increase in total exports to China compared with August, virtually the entire gain came from the electronics category, whose value climbed from $2.92 billion to $5.99 billion. Other major product groups saw far more modest shifts: mobile phones and their components registered a slight uptick, while the fresh fruit and vegetable segment fell by around 20 per cent.
September also marked the first occasion on which electronics accounted for more than half of Vietnam's exports to China, capturing 51 per cent of the total versus 34 per cent in August. In the equivalent month of 2025, electronics held only a 20 per cent share, and mobile phones were still the single largest product category shipped to the Chinese market.
Throughout 2025, monthly electronics exports to China oscillated between $0.9 billion and $1.6 billion. From May of the current year onward, that range shifted upward to between $2.5 billion and $3 billion per month before the September spike.
Three Destinations Capture Most of the Electronics Export Gain
Beyond China, Vietnam's electronics exports to the United States also set a new monthly record, approaching $7 billion in September, an increase of roughly $1.8 billion over August. The US remains the single largest buyer of Vietnamese-made electronics.
Hong Kong ranked third, with exports exceeding $3 billion and posting a gain of more than 70 per cent month-on-month. Taken together, China, the US and Hong Kong absorbed over 90 per cent of the incremental electronics export volume recorded in September.
In other major destinations, the changes were considerably smaller. Shipments of electronics to South Korea, the Netherlands and Thailand registered only marginal gains compared with August, while exports directed at Malaysia actually declined.
Electronics Lifts National Exports While Other Sectors Contract
On a national level, total Vietnamese exports rose by $4.7 billion in September relative to August. However, the electronics group alone added $6.7 billion, which means that every other product category combined moved in the opposite direction.
Electronics reached $22.6 billion in the month, representing close to 38 per cent of total export value. All remaining categories together accounted for $36.9 billion, a 5.1 per cent decrease from August.
Several traditional export pillars posted declines: textiles and apparel fell 15 per cent, mobile phones and their components dropped 12.8 per cent, and footwear as well as fresh produce also registered lower values than the prior month. Among the larger product groups, only machinery and equipment moved in the same upward direction as electronics.
Import Side Narrows the Electronics Deficit; FDI Sector Dominates
On the import side, electronics brought into Vietnam in September also hit a record, surpassing $27.1 billion, though the month-on-month increase was a modest 5.9 per cent. Because exports grew at a faster pace than imports, the trade deficit specific to the electronics group narrowed sharply from $9.76 billion in August to $4.58 billion in September, the lowest level since the start of the year.
Total import values from China and South Korea — the two principal sources of electronics components for Vietnamese manufacturers — also reached all-time highs in September.
The foreign-invested (FDI) sector accounted for 99.7 per cent of electronics export value in September. In trade-balance terms, the FDI bloc posted a surplus of $4.8 billion for the month, while the domestically owned sector recorded a deficit of $3.5 billion.
Analysts Cautious on Sustainability; Finance Ministry Extends Auto Tax Incentive
In its September macroeconomic report, Dragon Capital Securities (VDSC) noted that with demand for electronic and semiconductor components continuing to grow, the FDI sector is likely to maintain its dominant position in Vietnam's trade balance. The firm warned that without meaningful technology transfer and tighter supply-chain linkages with domestic enterprises, that structural pattern will be difficult to reverse.
Although the trade balance swung back to surplus in September, several brokerage houses stopped short of calling it a turning point. VDSC characterised the monthly surplus as a positive signal but argued it was insufficient to declare the import-surplus trend definitively over. Yuanta Vietnam observed that the improvement was driven predominantly by the electronics group and the FDI sector, while new export orders showed signs of weakening, casting doubt on whether the surplus will hold in the coming months.
From a different angle, ACB Securities (ACBS) cautioned that the heavy concentration of exports in electronics and machinery makes Vietnam's trade revenue more exposed to potential trade-policy measures targeting those two categories. If future restrictions extend beyond labour-intensive goods to encompass technology products, the knock-on effect on export value could be considerably larger.
In a separate policy move aimed at supporting the domestic automotive industry's stable development and its push toward export, the Ministry of Finance has proposed extending the 0 per cent preferential tax-rate programme for automobile manufacturing and assembly — including components — by an additional five years, running through the end of 2032.
