Qingdao’s foreign trade grows by 6.8% in Jan-May

In the first five months of this year, Qingdao's foreign trade volume reached 339.08 billion yuan ($50.42 billion), up 6.8 percent year-on-year and accounting for 26.7 percent of Shandong's total import and export value, according to Qingdao customs statistics.

During this period, the city's exports reached 196.19 billion yuan, up 15.8 percent, while imports totaled 142.89 billion yuan, down 3.5 percent.

A US cargo ship docks at the Qingdao Port, Shandong province. [Photo by Yu Shaoyue/For China Daily]

Among the 15 sub-provincial cities in China, Qingdao's import and export value ranked fifth after Shenzhen, Ningbo, Guangzhou and Xiamen.

In the first five months, Qingdao's imports and exports of general trade reached 225.57 billion yuan, up 5.3 percent and accounting for 66.5 percent of the city's total. Its imports and exports of bonded logistics reached 55.7 billion yuan, up 31.4 percent and accounting for 16.4 percent of the city's total.

Private enterprises continue to dominate the city's foreign trade market. From January to May, the imports and exports of Qingdao's private enterprises reached 226.83 billion yuan, up 9 percent, accounting for 66.9 percent of the city's total.

Imports and exports with foreign-invested enterprises reached 63.89 billion yuan, down 7.8 percent. The figure of State-owned enterprises reached 48.22 billion yuan, up 22.7 percent.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United States and the European Union were the city's top three trading partners. In the first five months, Qingdao's trade with countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative hit 108.1 billion yuan, up 7.8 percent.

（chinadaily.com.cn）