Ningbo Customs officials work at a port in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: nbfb0574]

The China Customs magazine recently released its annual ranking of China's top 100 foreign trade cities in 2022, with Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province ranking fourth.

This marks the highest ranking Ningbo has achieved since the inception of the list, firmly placing it at the pinnacle of Zhejiang.

The list gauges the overall competitiveness of cities based on several factors, including foreign trade level, structural competitiveness, efficiency competitiveness, development competitiveness, and potential competitiveness.

In a remarkable feat, Ningbo's foreign trade topped 1 trillion yuan ($139.8 billion) for the first time in 2021, earning it the sixth spot on the list.

Building on this success, Ningbo's total import and export volume in 2022 surged to 1.27 trillion yuan, a 6.3 percent increase compared to the previous year. Specifically, exports amounted to 823.06 billion yuan, an uptick of 8 percent year-on-year, while imports registered at 444.07 billion yuan, up by 3.4 percent. Notably, Ningbo's exports accounted for 3.42 percent of the nation's total, further highlighting its significance on the global trade stage.

In 2022, a noteworthy 25,903 enterprises engaged in import and export activities in Ningbo. Local private enterprises collectively achieved a total import and export volume of 923.75 billion yuan in 2022, marking a substantial 10.1 percent increase and accounting for 72.9 percent of the city's total.