Zhejiang foreign trade rises 8.9% in first half of 2018

Cranes are busy transporting goods at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang province Feb 23. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

East China's Zhejiang province recorded a total import and export value of 1.33 trillion yuan ($196.39 billion) in the first six months of 2018, up 8.9 percent year-on-year, according to Hangzhou customs office.

Of this total, the value of imported goods grew by 18 percent to 349.01 billion yuan while that of exported goods reached 983.99 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6 percent.

Lu Haisheng, director of the statistics department of Hangzhou Customs explained that Zhejiang's foreign trade remained stable with good momentum in the first half of 2018 thanks to the recovery of the global economy and the steady economic development in China.

The statistics show that from January to June, the import value of cross-border e-commerce topped 10.38 billion yuan, up 84.4 percent compared with the same period last year.

Trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative saw robust growth, with the value surpassing 427.45 billion yuan.

Private companies in Zhejiang, a province known for its prosperous private economy, contributed 953.32 billion yuan to its total foreign trade value.

"The structure of exported goods was increasingly improved in the first six months," Lu said, adding that the export of high-tech products such as mechanical and electrical products, solar cells and pharmaceuticals grew rapidly.

People select imported goods at a shop in Yiwu, Zhejiang province. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]