Shenzhen posted a 2-percent year-on-year growth in foreign trade from January to August this year to reach 1.88 trillion yuan (US$277 billion), Shenzhen Customs said at a news conference held by the Shenzhen Municipal Government Information Office at the Civic Center in Futian District yesterday.
The growth rate ranked first among China’s top five foreign trade cities — Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, Suzhou and Dongguan, Tu Lin, deputy chief of the customs, said at the conference.
Shenzhen contributed to 9.4 percent of China’s total foreign trade in the past eight months. Its exports hit 1.04 trillion yuan, maintaining the lead position among major Chinese cities, while imports took third place at 845.69 billion yuan.
“Among the top five foreign trade cities, Shenzhen was the first to end the downward trend in foreign trade, realizing a 1.6-percent growth year on year from January to July,” said Tu.
She credited the robust growth to good performances of general trade, trade with major partners and exports in anti-virus medical supplies as well as the rapid recovery of the city’s manufacturing industry.
In the past eight months, general trade increased 7.6 percent to 964.94 billion yuan, leveraging 3.7 percentage points of growth of the city’s total trade. In August alone, general trade rose 14.3 percent to 140.85 billion yuan.
During the period, the city saw trade with its top 10 major partners increase by 3.4 percent. The growth rate in trade with the United States and China’s Taiwan reached double digits, with ASEAN countries and Mexico nearly 10 percent, with Japan and the U.K. more than 5 percent, with the EU 4.1 percent, and with South Korea 3.4 percent.
Due to the pandemic, the export of textiles including masks grew fivefold and medical apparatus and equipment 51.3 percent, showing Shenzhen’s contribution to the world’s fight against COVID-19.
Shenzhen witnessed a strong rebound in manufacturing, which resulted in increased imports of upstream electronic components and high-end manufacturing equipment. From January to August, imports of electronic components, memory storage elements and semiconductor manufacturing equipment rose 12.9 percent, 29.3 percent and 35.9 percent year on year, respectively, to 431.59 billion yuan, 28.52 billion yuan and 7.24 billion yuan.