From January to August this year, Wuxi’s total foreign trade reached RMB 695.82 billion, up 30% year on year, 2.5 percentage points higher than the provincial growth rate, and accounting for 14.3% of Jiangsu’s total foreign trade. Exports rose 38.6% to RMB 512.4 billion, while imports increased 10.7% to RMB 183.42 billion.

Foreign trade markets continued to diversify. During the first eight months, Wuxi’s imports and exports with major markets including ASEAN, the ROK and the EU reached RMB 124.35 billion, RMB 123.84 billion and RMB 86.31 billion respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 34.2%, 26.4% and 14.6%. Over the same period, trade with RCEP member countries totaled RMB 302.03 billion, up 24.3% and accounting for 43.4% of the city’s total foreign trade. Trade with the Belt and Road Initiative partner countries reached RMB 347.77 billion, up 22.8% and accounting for 50% of the city’s total.

Imports and exports through bonded logistics doubled. From January to August, imports and exports through general trade totaled RMB 318.13 billion, up 9.9% and accounting for 45.7% of Wuxi’s total foreign trade. Imports and exports through processing trade totaled RMB 212.67 billion, up 5.3%. Imports and exports through bonded logistics reached RMB 149.7 billion, surging 294.2% year on year.

Enterprises showed stronger momentum. During the first eight months, foreign-invested enterprises recorded RMB 312.72 billion in imports and exports, up 4.6% year on year. Private enterprises recorded RMB 230.46 billion, up 15.5%, while state-owned enterprises registered RMB 152.64 billion, a sharp increase of 314.1%.

Exports shifted toward smart and innovative products. From January to August, Wuxi exported RMB 407.66 billion worth of mechanical and electrical products, up 50.1% and accounting for nearly 80% of the city’s total exports, making a significant contribution to overall export growth. Among these products, exports of integrated circuit reached RMB 102.19 billion, up 53.3%; exports of computer parts and accessories totaled RMB 91.36 billion, up 490.4%; exports of the “new trio” products, namely, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products, reached RMB 14.8 billion, up 36.6%; and exports of ships totaled RMB 14.09 billion, up 74.8%.

The import structure improved while remaining stable. From January to August, Wuxi imported RMB 122.05 billion worth of mechanical and electrical products, up 9.7% and accounting for 66.5% of total imports. Integrated circuits remained the city’s largest single imported commodity, with imports totaling RMB 41.55 billion, up 8.7%. Over the same period, imports of medicinal materials and pharmaceuticals increased 5.6%, while imports of copper and copper products rose 13.5%.