Hubei’s total imports and exports expanded 35.3 percent year on year to 333.57 billion yuan in the first eight months of this year, 11.6 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of China’s foreign trade, Wuhan Customs reported on Sept. 10.
In August alone, the figure soared by 13.5 percent, representing an increase in Hubei's foreign trade for 17 consecutive months since April 2020.
Both exports and imports logged double-digit growth in the January-August period, surging 41.5 percent to 210.9 billion yuan and 25.8 percent to 122.67 billion yuan, respectively.
The general trade maintained rapid growth, accounting for 74 percent of Hubei's total imports and exports during the same period.
Exports of mechanical and electrical products registered 111.09 billion yuan, up 72.2 percent, while imports of the same products stood at 77.74 billion yuan, accounting for 63.4 percent.
Private enterprises saw stable growth. The imports and exports made by private enterprises in Hubei posted 194.79 billion yuan in the January-August period, accounting for 58.4 percent of the province’s total.
In the first eight months, Hubei's trade with its top three trading partners -- the United States, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union -- grew 40.7 percent, 53.3 percent and 22.9 percent to 45.97 billion yuan, 45.7 billion yuan and 43.96 billion yuan, respectively.
And the trade with countries along the Belt and Road rose 49.2 percent to 86.41 billion yuan during the same period, the data showed.
Wuhan, Hubei’s capital city, witnessed an increase of 38.1 percent in its imports and exports to 206.77 billion yuan in the first eight months. (en.hubei.gov.cn by Ruan Xinqi)