Xiamen's imports, exports volume reaps $32.12b in Q1
Statistics showed that Xiamen in Fujian province boasted foreign trade import and export volume worth 204.92 billion yuan ($32.12 billion) in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 9.7 percent year-on-year.
Of which, its imports grew 4.2 percent year-on-year to 99.88 billion yuan while its exports grew 15.3 percent to 105.04 billion yuan in the first three months.
Xiamen's import and export of general trade grew 7.4 percent year-on-year to 148.76 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year, accounting for 72.6 percent of the city's total, while that of processing trade and bonded logistics grew 5.8 percent and 31.2 percent, respectively.
Statistics showed that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States, and the European Union were Xiamen's top three trade partners in the first quarter of this year. Their import and export volumes with Xiamen grew 16 percent, 15.3 percent, and 29.5 percent to 37.92 billion yuan, 29.87 billion yuan and 25.14 billion yuan, respectively.
In addition, Xiamen's trade with BRICS countries increased by 7.2 percent to 15.4 billion yuan during the same period while its trade with other RCEP members increased by 3.5 percent to 68.31 billion yuan.
The city's private sector soared 12.4 percent year-on-year to 77.2 billion yuan in import and export volume during the same period, which ranked first in the city and accounted for 37.7 percent of the city's total, and resulted in a 0.9 percentage points increase from the previous year.
Statistics also showed that mechanical and electrical products as well as agricultural produce were the major imports, reaching 21.2 billion yuan and 18.01 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year, respectively.
Mechanical and electrical products, as well as labor-intensive products such as textiles and garments, were the major exports, growing 14.1 percent and 22.2 percent year-on-year to 47.98 billion yuan and 29.22 billion yuan, respectively.
Containers await shipping at a port in Xiamen, Fujian province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Why Xiamen
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Xiamen is one of the most economically competitive cities in China and was one of the first Special Economic Zones on the Chinese mainland. As a vice-provincial city independently listed on the State development plan, it has provincial-level authority in economic administration and local legislative power. In 2010, the Xiamen SEZ was expanded to cover the entire municipality. Today, Xiamen is a modern and international port city.