(CFP Photo)

Jiangsu's foreign trade rose by 4.8% year on year to 5.45 trillion yuan in 2022, accounting for 12.9% of China's total, according to Nanjing Customs on January 16.

The province's exports soared 7.5% to 3.48 trillion yuan, and imports reached 1.97 trillion yuan, up 0.4%.

The imports and exports by private enterprises increased by 11% year on year to 2.21 trillion yuan, or 40.6% of the province's total. Foreign-invested enterprises realized imports and exports worth 2.74 trillion yuan, 50.2% of the total trade volume. Foreign trade by state-owned enterprises expanded by 7.2% to 501.16 billion yuan.

In 2022, Jiangsu's foreign trade value with the European Union, ASEAN and the United States, the province's top three trading partners, reached 832.43 billion yuan, 830.14 billion yuan and 719.91 billion yuan, respectively, up 8.6%, 12.5% and 1.3%.

The province's trade with countries along the Belt and Road hit 1.49 trillion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 13.1%, marking the increase for seven consecutive years.

New energy products and cell phones grew significantly last year. The exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 2.3 trillion yuan, up 7.1%, accounting for 66.2% of the total exports value. This included the exports of solar cells and lithium-ion batteries worth 98.88 billion yuan and 72.22 billion yuan, up 52.8% and 61.1% respectively.

The province's exports of textile and clothing rose by 2.4% year on year to hit 340.93 billion yuan.

In addition, imports of agricultural products surged 23.7% to 163.92 billion yuan. This included the soybean imports worth 86.3 billion yuan, up 58.6%.

The imports of natural gas, unwrought copper and copper products, and coal and lignite totaled 41.74 billion yuan, 36.78 billion yuan and 12.62 billion yuan respectively, an increase of 12.5%, 36.3% and 7.9%.