According to the statistics released by Qingdao Customs, Qingdao’s imports and exports in the first half of 2023 totaled RMB430.51bln, up 9.2% from the same period last year. Among them, exports amounted to RMB232.42bln, an increase of 3.5% from the year before; imports RMB198.09bln, up 16.9% year-on-year.

Qingdao’s foreign trade in the first half of 2023 manifested the following features: firstly, general trade dominated imports and exports; secondly, private enterprises made up more than 70%; thirdly, the ASEAN is the biggest market and continues to be fast-growing; fourthly, exports of mechanical and electrical products saw a sharp growth and accounted for almost a half; fifthly, bulk commodities contributed enormously to the growth in imports.  (Liu Lanxing)