Technicians discuss products at a joint venture in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. [Photo/China Daily]
Suzhou in East China's Jiangsu province saw its foreign trade value grow 4 percent year-on-year from January to November of 2022, exceeding 2.37 trillion yuan ($341 billion) and ranking fourth among major cities in China, according to the local customs department.
In the first 11 months of the year, the imports and exports of foreign-invested enterprises in Suzhou were valued at 1.48 trillion yuan. Foreign trade in the city's private sector increased by 13.6 percent year-on-year to 754.54 billion yuan.
Suzhou's general trade imports and exports increased by 8.6 percent yearly to 987.86 billion yuan, accounting for 41.6 percent of the total foreign trade value. Meanwhile, as the city's main type of trade, processing trade imports and exports were up 3.5 percent yearly to 1 trillion yuan.
Suzhou's trade with the United States, ASEAN and the European Union reached 347.07 billion yuan, 344.74 billion yuan and 338.56 billion yuan, respectively, an increase of 4.4 percent, 7.6 percent and 5.6 percent year-on-year.
Nearly 40 percent of the city's export commodities were sold to Europe and the United States. Exports to the United States increased by 3.7 percent yearly to 299.47 billion yuan, while imports to the EU increased by 9 percent annually to 264.38 billion yuan.
In the same period, Suzhou exported 122.95 billion yuan in textile raw materials and products, an increase of 10.6 percent year-on-year. Exports of mechanical and electrical products were up 5.7 percent yearly to 1.12 trillion yuan and accounted for 78.4 percent of the city's total exports.