An aerial view of Ningbo. [Photo/Yongpai App]

Ningbo's economy maintained steady growth in the first eight months of 2026.

From January to August, the city's value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size rose 8.5 percent year-on-year, with private enterprises growing 11.3 percent. The automotive manufacturing and computer, communications, and other electronic equipment industries expanded 30.3 percent and 12.3 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, value added in high-end equipment, high-tech, and digital economy core industries increased by 14.8 percent, 10.8 percent, and 9.9 percent, respectively.

Investment excluding property development grew 2.2 percent, while manufacturing investment rose 8.4 percent. Investment in the digital economy's core industries surged 37.5 percent.

Foreign trade remained a key growth driver. Ningbo's total imports and exports reached 1.04 trillion yuan ($155.25 billion), up 7 percent, with exports increasing 8.5 percent to 714.6 billion yuan. Private enterprises accounted for 78.3 percent of the city's total foreign trade, while trade with ASEAN grew 22 percent.

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port handled 30.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers, up 6.1 percent. The city's total retail sales reached 375.2 billion yuan, an increase of 3 percent.

Exports of electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products surged 114.8 percent, highlighting the city's growing strength in emerging industries.