Foreign trade

Shenzhen has ranked first among all large and medium-sized Chinese cities in export volume for 24 consecutive years. Of the Fortune Global 500 companies, 197 had branches in the city by the end of 2016.

Imports and exports

Total exports and imports reached $398.44 billion in 2016, comprising 10.8 percent of the national total. The figure was 41.7 percent of the total of Guangdong Province. Exports reached $237.55 billion, comprising 11.3 percent of the national total and 39.7 percent of the Guangdong total. Imports reached $160.89 billion, accounting for 10.1 percent of the national total and 45.1 percent of the Guangdong total.

Use of foreign investment

In 2016, a total of 4,132 projects directly invested by foreign enterprises were granted, up 23.01 percent from a year ago. The contractual use of foreign investment in Shenzhen reached $52.19 billion, up 103.91 percent from the previous year and the actual use of foreign investment was $6.73 billion, up 3.62 percent from a year ago.

Outbound investment

In 2016, local companies actively invested abroad. They set up 755 enterprises and organizations outside the mainland. The agreed investments of Chinese enterprises amounted to $10.76 billion, down 22.88 percent from a year ago. Actual direct outbound investment reached $9.29 billion, up 81.26 percent from a year ago.