Xiamen's foreign trade up 8.3% from Jan-Sept

Foreign trade in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province rose by 8.3 percent year-on-year to 505.27 billion yuan ($77.21 billion) in the first nine months of this year, local authorities said.

Statistics show that cargo throughput at Xiamen Port reached 151.4 million metric tons, with foreign trade throughput exceeding 76 million tons, up 3.19 percent year-on-year, reflecting the strong resilience of the city's economy.

Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport saw 96,000 takeoffs and landings during the January to September period, with a cargo and mail throughput of about 71,000 tons.

Trade between Xiamen and Taiwan also reported growth from January to September, with 258,900 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) delivered between the two places through direct cargo flights, up 20.81 percent year-on-year.

Local authorities said that, in light of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Xiamen government has rolled out a series of measures to encourage qualified commercial and trade companies to resume normal operations as soon as possible.

Eight measures, including reducing overall customs clearance time and cutting taxes and administrative fees for enterprises, were introduced to improve the city's business environment and facilitate customs clearance at Xiamen Port.