Changzhou saw robust growth in its foreign trade in the first two months of 2021, local customs said in early March.

The total import and export values reached 43.6 billion yuan in the January-February period, up 42.1 percent year on year, ranking second in terms of growth rate in Jiangsu province, data from the Changzhou Customs showed.

Of the total, exports soared to 32.54 billion yuan, marking a 48.7-percent increase from the same period last year, while imports jumped 25.8 percent year on year to 11.06 billion yuan.

Among the major trading partners, Changzhou's foreign trade with the European Union witnessed a year-on-year growth of 32.7 percent to hit 8.4 billion yuan in the period.

The city’s trade with the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also rose 59.3 percent and 54 percent to 6.81 billion and 5.88 billion yuan, respectively.

Changzhou's trade with countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) saw a strong increase with 13.15 billion yuan registered in the first two months, up 43 percent year on year.

In the first two months, Changzhou imported 3.3 billion yuan worth of mineral products, up 46 percent year on year, representing 29.8 percent of the city's total import value.

Meanwhile, the export of mechanical and electrical products, the largest category of exported goods during the period, was 19.72 billion yuan, up 52.7 percent year on year, which accounted for 60.6% of the total export value.