Data of Nanjing customs showed a year-on-year increase of 5.1% in Jiangsu’s foreign trade from January to August this year, a new record high.

The total foreign trade volume, revealing a growth rate 1.6 percentage points higher than the national average, reached RMB 3.82 trillion, accounting for 12.9% of the national total. Exports contributed RMB 2.55 trillion, an increase of 9%. In addition, Jiangsu’s foreign trade has become substantially diversified, high-tech and green-oriented.

In the first eight months, foreign trade with BRI counties registered RMB 1.91 trillion, marking an increase of 10.3% and a rise of 4.9 percentage points in Jiangsu’s import and export growth rate. Its contribution to the provincial total was up by 2.4 percentage points to 49.9%. Notably, trade with ASEAN counties rose 22.4% to RMB 694.07 billion. And trade with the EU grew 3.5% to RMB 543.6 billion. Diversification of trade partners enhanced the resilience of Jiangsu’s foreign trade, which helped ensure stability of the global industrial chain.

Export structure also saw new changes. The export of mechanical and electrical products totaled RMB 1.77 trillion, up 10.6%, accounting for 69.3% of the provincial total and contributing to a 7.2 percentage points higher export growth rate of Jiangsu. Ship export increased by 28.6% to RMB 89.1 billion. And the export of EVs, lithium batteries, and PV products, often known as the new trio, grew 10.6% to RMB 121.45 billion, becoming a crucial driver to high quality development of foreign trade. These data spoke volume of a high-tech and green-oriented transition of Jiangsu’s foreign trade, which echoed global market’s demand for high-end manufacturing and sustainable development.