Regional diversity boosts China's foreign trade in Jan-July

China's foreign trade in goods hit a record high in the first seven months of this year, showing steady growth as foreign trade entities continued to show strength.

An examination of the latest foreign trade data from various regions across China reveals striking structural features.

China's major export hubs continued to drive foreign trade growth from January to July.

Photo shows a container terminal at Rizhao Port in Rizhao city, east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Guo Xulei)

Guangdong, China's top exporting province, saw trade volume rise 13.9 percent year on year to 5.17 trillion yuan ($726 billion). Zhejiang Province's total import and export value reached 3.01 trillion yuan, a 7.6 percent increase year on year, while Jiangsu Province's total imports and exports rose 8.1 percent to 3.15 trillion yuan, outpacing the national growth rate by 1.9 percentage points.

"From January to July, the number of private foreign trade enterprises in Zhejiang Province with import and export records increased 8.5 percent year on year to 98,879,” said Wang Yang, an official from Hangzhou Customs.

“During the same period, foreign trade, exports, and imports of foreign-invested companies in the province expanded 6.9 percent, 6 percent, and 8.4 percent, respectively," Wang added.

China's central and western regions also reported robust foreign trade growth in the January-July period.

Sichuan Province's total imports and exports of goods hit 582.5 billion yuan, a record high, registering a year-on-year increase of 12.1 percent. Meanwhile, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region's total imports and exports surged 39.1 percent from the same period last year to 253 billion yuan. Shanxi and Anhui provinces also saw significant increases, with foreign trade expanding 14.7 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively.

A worker transports fasteners in a company in Yongnian district, Handan city, north China's Hebei Province. Fasteners produced in Yongnian district are exported to over 110 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Wang Xiao) 

Chinese regions are driving foreign trade growth by developing specialized industries that leverage local advantages, enhancing their export competitiveness.

Hunan Province, a hub for construction machinery, saw exports in this sector rise 25 percent year on year to 19.44 billion yuan in the January-July period, according to Changsha Customs.

Chinese firms are capitalizing on regional supply chains to boost exports. TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., based in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, reported a 37 percent year-on-year increase in exports to 4.2 billion yuan for the January-July period.

"The Yangtze River Delta region has a strong industrial and supply chain system, with local suppliers providing key raw materials and components for our production," said Lu Jue, the company's customs manager. "This is an important reason why our exports continue to grow."

China's foreign trade is diversifying, with new growth areas emerging in both agricultural and manufactured goods.

North China's Hebei Province reported a surge in fresh pear exports, with volume up 92.2 percent to 141,000 tonnes and value rising 31.3 percent to 801 million yuan in the January-July period, according to Shijiazhuang Customs.

Meanwhile, Zhejiang Province saw home appliance exports climb 18.2 percent year on year to nearly 70 billion yuan.