Chuanshan Port Area of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port. [Photo by Gao Xuefeng/Yongpai App]

Ningbo Customs has reported that the city's foreign trade reached 1.32 trillion yuan ($186.93 billion) in the first 11 months of this year, up 2.4 percent year-on-year. Exports totaled 891.32 billion yuan, up 3.6 percent, while imports stood at 431.34 billion yuan, nearly unchanged from last year.

General trade remained dominant at 1.17 trillion yuan, accounting for 88.2 percent of the total. Processing trade rose 23.4 percent to 80.1 billion yuan, and trade through bonded logistics grew 5.6 percent to 72.68 billion yuan.

Private enterprises were the driving force behind this increase, with over 30,000 firms engaging in foreign trade and 28,000 private companies contributing 1.03 trillion yuan, surpassing the trillion-yuan mark one month earlier than last year. Their trade grew 4 percent, lifting overall growth by three percentage points and raising their share to 77.6 percent.

Market diversification advanced steadily, with the European Union remaining Ningbo's largest partner at 228.6 billion yuan, while trade with ASEAN surged 13.7 percent, Africa 21.3 percent, and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative 8.3 percent.

Exports have shifted toward higher-value products: electromechanical goods reached 519.9 billion yuan, up 5.8 percent; the new trio of green product exports — electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar panels — soared 69.7 percent; and EV exports increased 259.6 percent.

Imports also strengthened, particularly in raw materials and high-tech products, with copper, rubber, and glass imports rising sharply and integrated circuit imports jumping 34.5 percent.