East China's Zhejiang sees robust foreign trade in Jan-April

HANGZHOU -- The foreign trade value of eastern China's Zhejiang province rose 19.3 percent year-on-year to 1.43 trillion yuan ($212.5 billion) in the first four months of this year, according to Hangzhou Customs on Wednesday.

Of the total, exports exceeded one trillion yuan, up 23 percent year-on-year, while imports grew by 10 percent to 381.6 billion yuan.

Statistics show that since March 2020, Zhejiang's foreign trade has maintained year-on-year growth for 26 consecutive months.

From January to April, Zhejiang's foreign trade with the top three trading partners, the European Union, the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, registered an increase of 24.1 percent, 25.6 percent and 15.9 percent respectively, accounting for 45 percent of the province's total.

Meanwhile, the province's imports and exports to the markets of Belt and Road countries and member countries under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership rose by 24.2 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively.

In the first four months, there were 82,000 enterprises engaging in foreign trade business in Zhejiang, an increase of 6.5 percent from the same period in the previous year. The foreign trade value of private enterprises in the province reached 1.1 trillion yuan during the period, an increase of 24 percent year-on-year and accounting for 77 percent of the province's total.