Jiangsu’s imports and exports in October expanded 5.4% year-on-year to 458.75 billion yuan, which is 4.5 percentage points higher than the national growth rate and marks the province’s first positive growth this year.

Private enterprises continued to be an important accelerator for the province's foreign trade growth. In the first ten months, private enterprises in Jiangsu experienced a year-on-year growth of 5.9% in foreign trade to 1.9 trillion yuan, accounting for 44.3% of the province's total, up 4.7 percentage points from last year.

The province faced unprecedented challenges that impacted its foreign trade growth this year. Insiders believe that the expansion is a result of economic stimulus policies and the recovery of market fundamentals.

In June, Jiangsu introduced 14 measures to support three emerging industries, namely, new energy vehicles (NEVs), solar cells and lithium batteries, promote digital transformation and sustainable growth in trade, and also optimize the foreign trade structure.

Less than 3 months later, the province implemented 28 additional measures to boost economic recovery, including initiatives on foreign trade stability. Jiangsu has also encouraged airports to resume international passenger and cargo flights, supported companies in participating in overseas exhibitions, and streamlined the APEC business travel card application process.