At a port in Xiamen, Fujian province, containers await shipment. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Xiamen in Fujian province was ranked eighth among cities on the Chinese mainland in terms of import and export volume in 2021, up two places from 2020, the municipal bureau of commerce reported on Feb 18.

Xiamen's import and export volume in 2021 reached 887.65 billion yuan ($140.14 billion), an increase of 27.7 percent from that in 2020.

Xiamen's import and export volume increased rapidly in 2021 as its growth rate – 27.7 percent – was ranked third among China's top 20 cities in foreign trade, following Qingdao with 32.4 percent and Beijing with 30.6 percent.

In 2021, Xiamen's imports grew faster than its exports. Its imports climbed by 35.3 percent, owing primarily to higher energy commodity costs, while exports increased by 20.6 percent, owing primarily to mechanical and electrical items and labor-intensive products.

In addition, Xiamen was ranked seventh among 297 cities nationwide in terms of foreign trade competitiveness in 2020, according to the list released by China Customs magazine in October 2021.

Xiamen was placed fifth, fifth, and seventh in terms of other variables such as foreign trade level competitiveness, foreign trade potential, and foreign trade structure, respectively.