(CFP Photo)

Jiangsu Province reported a 9.8% increase in foreign trade in the first three quarters of the year to 4.11 trillion yuan, accounting for 13.2% of China's total, according to Nanjing Customs.

Exports rose 12.9% year on year to 2.61 trillion yuan, while imports went up 4.9% to 1.5 trillion yuan.

The province's private enterprises and state-owned enterprises contributed to foreign trade of 1.62 trillion yuan and 385.4 billion yuan, a growth of 15% and 15.1% respectively. Private enterprises became the most important growth driver of foreign trade in the coastal province.

During the same period, the total imports and exports by foreign-invested enterprises amounted to 2.1 trillion yuan, up 5.3% year on year and accounting for 51.1% of the province's total.

Jiangsu's trade with European Union, ASEAN, the United States, South Korea and Japan reached 626.4 billion yuan, 607.47 billion yuan, 539.07 billion yuan, 442.44 billion yuan, 326.81 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.5%, 13.8%, 6.5%, 15.1% and 1.9%, respectively.

The province's trade with countries and regions along the Belt and Road increased 14.9% to over 1.09 trillion yuan, 24.7% and 14.7% for trade with Latin America and Africa, respectively.

Export of new energy products and cell phones grew rapidly. In the first three quarters, Jiangsu's exports of mechanical and electrical products hit 1.72 trillion yuan, accounting for 65.8% of the total exports. This included the export of solar cells and lithium-ion batteries at 77.64 billion yuan and 50.83 billion yuan, an increase of 71%, 70.8%, respectively. The exports of integrated circuits, cell phones and ships climbed up 13.7%, 102.9% and 10.4% to 193.81 billion yuan, 82.01 billion yuan, 32.68 billion yuan.

During the same period, Jiangsu exported labor-intensive products worth 392.09 billion yuan, an increase of 6.3%, and basic organic chemicals worth 90.55 billion yuan, up 30.1%.