Qingdao foreign trade totals 82.56b yuan in first two months

According to Qingdao customs, the total value of Qingdao's foreign trade reached 82.56 billion yuan ($11.87 billion) in the first two months of this year, down 7.8 percent from the same period of the previous year, accounting for 29.7 percent of Shandong's total import and export value.

The city's exports totaled 43.03 billion yuan, down 13.2 percent, while imports recorded 39.53 billion yuan, down 1.1 percent.

In the same period, the import and export value of private enterprises in Qingdao reached 48.72 billion yuan, down 1.7 percent, accounting for 59 percent of the total.

ASEAN（Association of Southeast Asian Nations）was the city's largest trade partner, with an import and export value of 12.16 billion yuan, up 28.7 percent, accounting for 14.7 percent of the city's total foreign trade.

The European Union (excluding the United Kingdom) was the city's second largest trade partner, with a trade value of 10.6 billion yuan, up 0.7 percent, accounting for 12.8 percent of the city's total.

The United States was the city's third largest trade partner, with imports and exports falling to 8.49 billion yuan, down 21.4 percent, accounting for 10.3 percent of the total.

Qingdao's imports and exports to South Korea, Japan, Brazil, Russia and Australia decreased by 11.2 percent, 13.2 percent, 31.1 percent, 7.6 percent and 22.1 percent respectively.

The city's trade with countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 25.45 billion yuan, up 16.4 percent, accounting for 30.8 percent of the total.

In the first two months, Qingdao imported and exported goods worth 110 million yuan through the customs cross-border e-commerce management platform, 2.2 times higher than the same period last year.

According to Qingdao customs, this year the Spring Festival holiday came earlier than last year, which had little effect on the city's foreign trade. In January, Qingdao's foreign trade decreased by 3.7 percent, with its imports up by 2.9 percent and exports down 12.4 percent. In February, imports and exports were affected by the epidemic situation and other factors.

Qingdao customs authorities said that the impact of the virus will be limited and temporary. With the continuous improvement of the situation, as businesses reopen and various policies take effect, foreign trade is gradually returning to normal.