Wuxi in East China's Jiangsu province saw robust growth in foreign trade in 2021, according to the local customs.
The total value of imports and exports exceeded $100 billion for the first time, reaching about $106 billion in Wuxi in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 20.4 percent.
Wuxi now has trade relations with 230 countries and regions.
The European Union, the United States and Japan used to be the three main markets for Wuxi, with imports and exports accounting for nearly half of the total. With the advancement of the diversification strategy, emerging markets such as South Korea, ASEAN, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East have gradually risen.
In 2021, Wuxi's top five trading partners were ASEAN, the European Union, South Korea, Japan, and the United States. The city's trade with countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative reached $27.24 billion, accounting for 25.8 percent of the city's total imports and exports, a year-on-year increase of 2.3 percentage points.
In 2021, Wuxi exported 279.48 billion yuan ($44.04 billion) in mechanical and electrical products, an increase of 15.8 percent, which accounted for 66.2 percent of the city's total exports. Exports of high-tech products in Wuxi increased by 15.3 percent to 160.92 billion yuan, accounting for 38.1 percent of the city's total exports.
Wuxi's foreign trade to RCEP countries was valued at 292.48 billion yuan in 2021, accounting for 42.8 percent of its total imports and exports.
Officials from the Wuxi Customs Comprehensive Business Office noted that the implementation of RCEP will help drive the city's foreign trade. ASEAN is an important destination for Wuxi's intermediate products and a source of energy and raw material imports. Japan and South Korea are important industrial chain and supply chain partners for Wuxi's semiconductors and auto parts.
"The RCEP agreement will help reduce tariffs on intermediate products, thereby reducing production costs and enhancing product competitiveness."
