Cars waiting to be loaded onto a roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ship at the Xiaomo International Logistics Port in Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone on Jan. 14. Photos by Xinhua

　　Shenzhen's foreign trade surged by 31.7% year on year to 2.2 trillion yuan (US$302.72 billion) in the first half (H1) of this year, retaining the top position in the country, according to Shenzhen Customs.

　　The city’s foreign trade accounted for 10.4% of the country’s total and 50.4% of Guangdong’s total, representing increases of 2 percentage points and 6.9 percentage points, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

　　Exports amounted to 1.41 trillion yuan, an increase of 34.9% from a year ago, ranking first in the country. Imports increased 26.5% year on year to 792.45 billion yuan, ranking third.

　　Shenzhen’s foreign trade exceeded 1 trillion yuan for the fourth consecutive quarter and has maintained positive growth for nine quarters in a row.

　　From January to June, exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 949 billion yuan, up 21.4% compared with the same period in 2023, accounting for 67.4% of the city’s total exports.

　　Exports of electric vehicles and photovoltaic products grew by 51.7% and 81.6%, respectively, from a year ago, reaching 12.87 billion yuan and 2.48 billion yuan.

　　The electronic information manufacturing industry, a pillar of Shenzhen’s foreign trade, accounted for about half of the city’s total.

　　With the recovery of demand in the international market, Shenzhen’s imports and exports of electronic products and components reached 1.02 trillion yuan in H1, accounting for 21.1% of the country’s total.

　　Major Shenzhen-based firms like BYD and Huawei played an important role in leading the growth. The top 30 manufacturing firms in the city yielded a total of 431.3 billion yuan in foreign trade, up 16.7% from a year ago.

The 6th WCO Global AEO Conference opens in Shenzhen on May 8.

　　Shenzhen maintained a double-digit increase in trade with its top 10 trading partners during the first six months of the year.

　　Trade with Belt and Road Initiative partner countries and regions increased by more than 40%. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China’s Hong Kong, and the United States were Shenzhen’s top three trading partners, with trade totaling 385.6 billion yuan, 317.8 billion yuan, and 229.6 billion yuan, respectively, representing growth rates of 51.2%, 17.2%, and 30.7%.

　　Shenzhen Port handled a total of 55.629 million tons of goods in the past six months, marking a 15.4% year-on-year increase and setting a new record for this period.

Editor/Li Jing

WeChat Editors/Cynthia, Cao Zhen