Quzhou's total imports and exports reached over 23.44 billion yuan ($3.43 billion) in the first quarter of this year, representing a 28 percent year-on-year increase.

The city has long leveraged its traditional strengths in fluorosilicon new materials, fostering industry leaders like Juhua Group and Quzhou Huayou Cobalt New Material. In 2025, the new materials industry chain became the city's first to surpass an annual output value of 100 billion yuan.

Six flagship industrial chains, including new energy and new materials, are now major drivers of Quzhou's foreign trade growth.

In the first quarter, exports of electromechanical products reached 6.86 billion yuan, a 136.4 percent year-on-year increase, accounting for 41.4 percent of total exports.

A robotic arm is at work. [Photo/WeChat account: quzhoufb]

At the factory of Quzhou Penghui Energy Technology, automated production lines are operating at full speed. The company is preparing to ship batches of energy storage integration cabinets to overseas markets, including India and Europe.

"Our export growth has been remarkable over the past two years, with shipments more than doubling in 2025," said Peng Wujun, assistant to the chairman of Penghui Energy. In the first quarter, the company's exports reached 248 million yuan.

ASEAN, the European Union, and South Korea were the city's top three export markets in the first quarter, with exports to ASEAN countries reaching 4.33 billion yuan, exports to the EU totaling 3.37 billion yuan, and exports to South Korea reaching 2.11 billion yuan.