Zhanjiang's foreign trade with B&R countries flourishes

Zhanjiang's foreign trade with countries along the Belt & Road reached 39.6 billion yuan ($5.8 billion) in the first half of this year, up 19 percent year-on-year.

Export value increased by a phenomenal 51.3 percent to 8.09 billion yuan, while import value grew by 12.8 percent to 31.51 billion yuan.

General trade remained the major form of foreign trade. It rose by 19 percent to 30.53 billion yuan, 77.1 percent of the city's total foreign trade with Belt & Road countries.

State-owned enterprises are the major driving force of local foreign trade, with their import-export value increasing by 19.4 percent to 35.59 billion yuan, 89.9 percent of the city's total.

The most popular export commodities in the Belt & Road countries were electromechanical products and fertilizers. Crude oil, coal and iron ore were the top three products on the January-June import list.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the largest trade partner of Zhanjiang. It registered an export value of 5.91 billion yuan and an import value of 2.67 billion from January to June.