Yueyang Customs Authority said that in the first half of this year, Yueyang's foreign trade maintained steady momentum, with the total import and export value reaching 27.95 billion CNY, a year-on-year increase of 13.3%, ranking third in the province.

During the January-June period, Yueyang's foreign trade growth rate was 0.6 percentage points higher than the provincial average. In June alone, the import and export value reached 5.99 billion CNY, growing 15.4% year on year. The figure was 7.2 percentage points higher than the provincial average, marking the largest single-month increase since the second quarter. Looking at the quarterly trend, the city's Q2 import and export value exceeded Q1 by 1.49 billion CNY, showing a clear growth momentum. As Yueyang's "bridgehead" for opening up, the Chenglingji Comprehensive Bonded Zone recorded an import and export value of 18.81 billion CNY during the period, ranking second among the province's special customs supervision areas.

The vitality of market entities continued to strengthen, with the private economy emerging as the core engine. In the first half of the year, the import and export value of Yueyang's private enterprises reached 24.95 billion CNY, a year-on-year increase of 35.1%, accounting for 89.3% of the city's total import and export value. Yueyang further diversified its international markets. From January to June, Yueyang expanded its trading partners to 172 countries and regions, an increase of 24 compared to the same period last year. Yueyang's trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative stood at 23.56 billion CNY, a year-on-year increase of 23.3%; while trade with emerging markets such as Africa and Latin America grew by 88.2% and 10.9%, respectively, further consolidating the city's diversified market landscape.

The import and export structure became more coordinated, with exports of competitive products performing exceptionally well. On the import side, imports of bulk commodities such as energy, minerals, and grain totaled 16.48 billion CNY, up 34.4% year on year, accounting for 69.9% of the total imports. On the export side, exports of basic organic chemicals grew by 71.2% year on year, emerging as a new highlight for "Made in Yueyang" products expanding into overseas markets.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn