South China’s Hainan Province recorded imports and exports of goods totaling 205.95 billion yuan (about 28.93 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of this year, a record for the same period and an increase of 20.2% over one year, customs statistics indicated on Wednesday.
This is the first time that the province’s merchandise trade has exceeded the 200 billion yuan mark during the same period, according to information revealed at a press conference held by Haikou Customs.
The province’s merchandise trade with Belt and Road partner countries reached 117.25 billion yuan in the first three quarters, an increase of 43.9 percent year-on-year and accounting for 56.9 % of provincial total. Meanwhile, Hainan’s merchandise trade with ASEAN countries jumped 70 percent year-on-year.
The province’s exports of finished industrial products grew rapidly during the period, accounting for more than 70 percent of the total export value, becoming an important factor in its overall foreign trade growth, said the province’s customs. Haikou.
Notably, thanks to the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port, the number of newly registered foreign trade companies in Hainan has exceeded 70,000 since June 2020, making significant contributions to the development of the province’s foreign trade.
According to customs, in the first three quarters of this year, general trade with longer industrial chains and higher added value accounted for more than 70% of Hainan’s total foreign trade.