Yangtze River Delta posts record foreign trade in first seven months

The Yangtze River Delta region of eastern China has reported a record high in foreign trade for the first seven months of the year. Official data released on Tuesday shows the total value of goods imports and exports reached 11.41 trillion yuan (approximately 1.59 trillion U.S. dollars) between January and July.

This represents an 18.9 percent increase compared to the same period last year. According to Shanghai Customs, the region now accounts for 37.9 percent of China's total foreign trade value during this timeframe.

A key driver of this growth has been the rising global demand for digitalization and intelligent technologies. High-tech products, particularly integrated circuits and high-end equipment, have seen rapid export growth. This has helped Jiangsu Province maintain the top position in foreign trade scale within the region.

Zhejiang Province has emerged as the leader in exports of future industry products, such as intelligent bio-robots, showcasing the innovative strength of its private economy. Meanwhile, Shanghai's foreign trade volume surpassed three trillion yuan (about 445.06 billion U.S. dollars) for the first time, with trade to Belt and Road partner countries growing by over 40 percent.

Anhui Province recorded the fastest expansion in the delta, with a growth rate of 35.7 percent. The province also led the nation in both the volume and value of automobile exports.