China's Jiangsu reports record foreign trade with BRICS members in Jan-Feb

NANJING - Jiangsu province, an economic powerhouse in East China, saw foreign trade with BRICS nations soar to a record 102.22 billion yuan (about $14.4 billion) in the first two months of 2024, marking an increase of 36 percent year-on-year, according to Nanjing Customs.

The value of trade between Jiangsu and India and Jiangsu and Brazil stood out, reaching 25.31 billion yuan and 23.87 billion yuan, respectively, in the first two months of the year. These figures reflect respective year-on-year growth rates of 12.1 percent and 36.4 percent.

According to the customs, this notable surge in trade figures can be attributed to Jiangsu's robust private sector. Meanwhile, Jiangsu also made progress in exporting the three major tech-intensive green products, or the "new three" -- new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products, which are gaining popularity in the BRICS emerging markets.

BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market cooperative mechanism that initially featured Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. On Jan 1, 2024, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Ethiopia also joined BRICS, doubling its number of members from five to 10.