A view of the assembly line at a household appliances enterprise in Suqian City, Jiangsu Province. (CFP Photo)

The Yangtze River Delta, encompassing Shanghai, and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, made steady progress in foreign trade during the first five months of the year, reaching 6.4 trillion yuan and achieving a 6.1% growth year-on-year.

Jiangsu and Anhui recorded their highest foreign trade in the period, with increases of 9.2% and 5.7% year-on-year, respectively. In the delta region, Shanghai, Suzhou, Ningbo, Jinhua and Hangzhou ranked among the top ten export cities nationwide.

Private enterprises played a crucial role in driving this growth. Over the five months, they achieved a total import and export value of 3.43 trillion yuan, representing 53.58% of the region’s total. Notably, Jiangsu’s private enterprises saw the largest growth at 16.6%. Zhejiang’s private enterprises recorded the highest trade volume at 1.69 trillion yuan, which accounted for 80.5% of the province’s total and represented the highest share nationwide.

Jiangsu's private enterprises has made significant strides. For example, Danyang produces 40% of the world’s lenses, and Huangqiao Town in Taixing City is home to 30% of the world's violins. Suzhou's private enterprises achieved a foreign trade of 397.7 billion yuan from January to May, an increase of 16.5% year-on-year.

During the period, Anhui and Jiangsu exported mechanical and electrical products worth 153.75 billion yuan and 971.5 billion yuan, respectively, which accounted for 70.4% and 68.4% of each province’s export volume.

In Suzhou, the total import and export value of integrated circuits reached 195.32 billion yuan, representing a 34.9% increase year-on-year and accounting for 19.2% of the city's foreign trade.

Furthermore, the exports of high-tech products in the delta amounted to 1.56 trillion yuan, an 8.4% increase year-on-year, accounting for 35.2% of the national total. Notably, Jiangsu’s exports of high-tech products expanded by 10.4% year-on-year to reach 470.49 billion yuan. Shanghai’s exports of biotechnology, life science technology, and computer integrated manufacturing systems saw increases of 9.67%, 9.67%, and 19.64%, respectively.

The region’s trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative experienced rapid growth. In the first five months, Zhejiang’s exports to BRI countries reached 779.69 billion yuan, marking a 7.9% year-on-year growth and accounting for 50.5% of the province’s total. Anhui and Shanghai’s trade with BRI countries reached 161.52 billion yuan and 616.49 billion yuan, respectively, while Jiangsu’s trade with these countries increased by 14.2% during the period.