Wuxi's foreign trade up 7.7%

The foreign trade of Wuxi in East China's Jiangsu province expanded 7.7 percent year-on-year to 223.04 billion yuan ($33.37 billion) in the first four months of this year, statistics from Wuxi Customs show.

During this period, the city's exports of high-tech products surged 34.6 percent year-on-year.

As an enterprise engaged in the research and development of precision parts for mobile communication terminals, Jabil Circuit (Wuxi) Co has continued increasing its investment in R&D over the past several years to increase the value of its products.

Jabil has also become the only supplier of the Apple Watch Series 7's organic light emitting diode and saw a rapid growth in exports this year.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, which took effect on Jan 1, has also brought new opportunities to Wuxi's foreign trade enterprises.

"The RCEP took effect in Malaysia in March, which exempted our exported products from tariffs," said Liu Biqiao, manager of the overseas affairs department of Wuxi Sinmag Equipment (China) Co Ltd, who added that the RCEP has significantly improved the enterprise's competitiveness in Southeast Asia.

Wuxi issued more than 3,000 RCEP certificates of origin to local foreign trade enterprises in the first four months of the year, benefiting $135 million worth of cargo.

The city's exports to RCEP member countries jumped 19.2 percent year-on-year during the same period.

The RCEP agreement was signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries. Over 90 percent of trade in goods among approved member states will be tariff-free, and all member states will significantly reduce restrictions on economic and trade cooperation, facilitate the flow of goods and factors of production, and improve production efficiency.