According to Changzhou Customs, from January to April, the total export and import value in Changzhou recorded 98.77 billion yuan, up 7.7% compared to the same period last year, and the growth rate was 0.6% higher than the provincial average.

Data shows that the EU is Changzhou’s top trading partner. With a total trade value of 20.27 billion yuan, it accounted for 20.5% of the city’s foreign trade. Trade with the US and the ASEAN countries increased by 8.4% and 13.1% respectively. In the same period, trade with countries in the BRI Initiative registered at 26.51 billion yuan, a rise of 18%.

Private enterprises are the major force driving trade growth. The group contributed 53.04 billion yuan, accounting for 53.8% of the total trade value; while foreign-invested companies recorded 42.07 billion yuan, up by 5.6% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the export of mechanical and electrical products raised by 14.9%, accounting for 61.4% of the total trade value. The export of solar batteries, appliances for electrical engineering, and lithium storage batteries increased by 53.8%, 26.8% and 27.3% respectively.

It’s worth noting that during the same period, Changzhou imported 4.93 million tons of iron ore, down by 9.5%. The average imported price plunged by 33.6%. Since February, the quantity and price of imported iron ore have both fallen, reducing the import value of Changzhou by 11.1 percentage points.