Suzhou's foreign trade growth accelerates

On June 13, Suzhou Customs released data on the city's foreign trade performance for the first five months of this year.

From January to May, Suzhou's total foreign trade value reached about 1.02 trillion yuan, marking a 10.4 percent increase year-on-year. Exports amounted to 628.36 billion yuan, up 9.9 percent, while imports totaled 390.48 billion yuan, up 11.2 percent.

In May alone, the imports and exports were valued at 217.01 billion yuan, a 12.3 percent increase, with exports growing by 16.7 percent to 136.5 billion yuan and imports rising by 5.5 percent to 80.51 billion yuan.

Since September 2023, Suzhou's foreign trade has been on an upward trajectory, showing steady growth this year. The growth rates for the first quarter, April, and May were 9.5 percent, 11 percent, and 12.3 percent, respectively, demonstrating a month-on-month acceleration. The trade volume from January to May nearly matched the record high of 1.02803 trillion yuan in the same period in 2022.

Private enterprises in Suzhou played a significant role, with a total import and export value of 397.7 billion yuan, up 16.5 percent, accounting for 39 percent of the city's total foreign trade value, a 2.1 percentage point increase from the previous year. Foreign-invested enterprises contributed 585.95 billion yuan, up 7.9 percent, making up 57.5 percent of the total, with a 14.2 percent increase in May alone.

Trade with the United States showed continuous growth. From January to May, exports to the U.S. reached 125.53 billion yuan, up 12.7 percent, representing 20 percent of Suzhou's total exports, a 0.5 percentage point increase from the previous year. Exports to ASEAN countries totaled 91.55 billion yuan, up 13.6 percent, accounting for 14.6 percent of the total, with exports to Vietnam growing by 28.7 percent. Additionally, exports to Latin America increased by 18.2 percent and to South Korea by 17.8 percent.

Suzhou Customs reported that the number of active foreign trade enterprises in the city rose to 28,800 from January to May, an increase of over 2,000 compared to the same period last year. Exports of household appliances through cross-border e-commerce surged by 194.3 percent to 820 million yuan.