According to statistics released by Suzhou Customs at a press conference held on Dec. 19, Suzhou’s foreign trade in the first 11 months of this year totaled 2,385.69 billion yuan, an increase of 6.7% over the same period last year (similarly hereinafter). In November, the city’s imports and exports were 232.52 billion yuan, ranking the fourth highest on record.
Suzhou is one of the most open cities in China. In the first 11 months of this year, the city’s exports reached 1,484.93 billion yuan, up by 8.3%, and imports reached 900.76 billion yuan, up by 4.2%. In November, its imports and exports were 232.52 billion yuan, among which exports increased by 1.8% to 150.32 billion yuan.
In the January-November period, the foreign trade volume of foreign-funded enterprises and private enterprises in the city rose by 7.5% and 7.3% to 1,353.14 billion yuan and 942.25 billion yuan, respectively, which accounted for 96.2% of the city’s total. The imports of foreign-funded enterprises increased by 15% and the exports of private enterprises grew by 15.5%.
From January to November, Suzhou’s import and export volume of processing trade was 1,030.98 billion yuan, an increase of 8%, accounting for 43.2% of the city’s total and generating 50.9 percentage points of growth for the city’s foreign trade. In the same period, the imports and exports of general trade were 997.24 billion yuan, up by 5.6%, accounting for 41.8% of the city’s total, of which the import and export through the customs cross-border e-commerce management platform surged by 56% to 18.26 billion yuan.
Suzhou has made remarkable achievements in expanding trade with countries jointly building the Belt and Road. In the first 11 months, its imports and exports with Belt and Road partner countries reached 913.89 billion yuan, an increase of 12.7%, accounting for 38.3% of the city’s total and generating 4.6 percentage points of growth for the city’s foreign trade. The trade with the ASEAN increased by 9%.
From January to November, the imports and exports of mechanical and electrical products were 1,807.51 billion yuan, an increase of 9.2%, accounting for 75.8% of the city’s total. Meanwhile, the exports of mobile phones and household appliances grew by 13.5% and 21.6% to 215.18 billion yuan and 31.02 billion yuan, respectively.
