Suzhou, Jiangsu province. [Photo/VCG]
Suzhou Customs recently released the foreign trade statistics for Suzhou from January to April this year.
According to statistics, Suzhou achieved a total foreign trade volume of 803.37 billion yuan ($110.76 billion) in the first four months of this year, marking a growth of 10.1 percent. This comprised exports worth 492.6 billion yuan, an increase of 8.3 percent, and imports worth 310.77 billion yuan, a rise of 13.1 percent.
In April alone, the total import and export volume reached 210.12 billion yuan, up by 11.5 percent. Among these, exports were valued at 129.25 billion yuan, growing by 7.4 percent, and imports stood at 80.87 billion yuan, surging by 18.7 percent.
During the first four months, the foreign trade volume of foreign-invested enterprises in the city amounted to 460.42 billion yuan, up by 6.3 percent. In April, it increased by 11.6 percent, with imports rising by 29.1 percent. Concurrently, the foreign trade volume of private enterprises reached 315.49 billion yuan, showing a remarkable growth of 18.5 percent, driving the city's import and export growth by 6.7 percentage points.
During the first four months, trade with ASEAN countries reached 125.11 billion yuan, up by 11.5 percent, while trade with the United States amounted to 114.23 billion yuan, growing by 2.1 percent, with exports increasing by 10.6 percent.
Imports from South Korea surged by 51.3 percent during the same period. Additionally, trade with the Middle East, India, and Mexico increased by 14.4 percent, 15.3 percent, and 18.8 percent, respectively.
Suzhou's imports of integrated circuits reached 112.49 billion yuan during the first four months, up by 31.8 percent. Meanwhile, imports of audio and video equipment components and flat panel display modules reached 11.12 billion yuan and 8.91 billion yuan, respectively, marking an increase of 1.5 times and 1.6 times. These three categories accounted for 42.6 percent of the city's total import value during the same period, driving import growth by 14.3 percentage points.