Robust growth in foreign trade in H1 mirrors Suzhou's high-quality development

According to statistics from Suzhou Customs, in the first half of 2024, the total value of imports and exports in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, reached 1.23 trillion yuan ($169.33 billion), up 9.2 percent year-on-year. This accounts for 5.8 percent of the country's total foreign trade and 45.9 percent of the province's total.

General trade hit 526 billion yuan, representing 42.7 percent of the city's total foreign trade and marking a 0.7 percentage-point growth from the previous year, which signals an increase in trade autonomy.

Private enterprises saw a significant surge in foreign trade, reaching 477.39 billion yuan and making up 38.8 percent of the total. With a notable increase of 13.6 percent, private enterprises have become a new driving force behind the city's foreign trade growth.

Trade with fellow Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member countries soared to 453.84 billion yuan, marking a 13 percent rise and constituting 36.8 percent of the total, reflecting the vitality of trade within the RCEP region.

The equipment manufacturing sector exported 593.45 billion yuan in goods, increasing 13.2 percent and comprising 77.8 percent of total exports.