Shanghai's foreign trade hits record high in Jan-Feb

SHANGHAI - Shanghai's foreign trade hit a record high of 681.56 billion yuan ($99.12 billion) in the first two months of this year, with a slight year-on-year increase of 0.7 percent, data from Shanghai Customs showed Tuesday.

In the period, the metropolis in eastern China saw imports rise 4.7 percent year-on-year to 415.99 billion yuan, while its exports fell 4.9 percent year-on-year to 265.57 billion yuan, said the customs authority.

Private enterprises in Shanghai posted strong performance as their foreign trade reached around 208.48 billion yuan in the two months, up 13.1 percent year-on-year, accounting for 30.6 percent of the metropolis's total trade value.

From January to February, Shanghai's trade volume with other Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) members reached 231.87 billion yuan, up 2.5 percent year-on-year, while its imports and exports volume with the European Union reached 137.45 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5 percent.