Shanghai sees foreign trade rise 5.3% in Jan-Oct

SHANGHAI -- Shanghai saw its foreign trade value grow by 5.3 percent year-on-year to 3.46 trillion yuan ($483 billion) in the first 10 months of this year, local customs said Tuesday.

Of the total, Shanghai's exports reached 1.41 trillion yuan, up 12.5 percent, while its imports grew 0.9 percent to hit 2.05 trillion yuan in the January-October period. The municipality's trade volume during the period accounted for about 10 percent of China's total, Shanghai customs said.

Shanghai's foreign-funded enterprises contributed 61.2 percent of its foreign trade value, while imports and exports of its private sector gained 13.6 percent year-on-year to become the city's important growth engine for foreign trade.

During the period, Shanghai's imports and exports to countries along the Belt and Road reached around 783 billion yuan, up 6.8 percent. Trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) rose 6.6 percent to reach about 467 billion yuan.

Notably, its exports of new energy products sustained a sound growth momentum during the first 10 months. Exports of lithium-ion batteries, electric manned vehicles and solar cells totaled approximately 20 billion yuan, 65 billion yuan and 7 billion yuan respectively, up 4.6 times, 1.2 times and 53 percent from the same period last year.