Shipping containers are stacked at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province on May 28. [Photo/VCG]

East China's Zhejiang contributed the largest share — 20.7 percent — to China's total export growth from January to May.

Total trade volume reached 2.24 trillion yuan ($312.15 billion) during the period, up 6.5 percent year-on-year. Exports rose to 1.69 trillion yuan, marking a robust 9.6 percent increase.

Trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative played a central role, accounting for 57.2 percent of Zhejiang's total foreign trade. The province's trade with these countries totaled 1.28 trillion yuan, up 8.7 percent year-on-year.

The European Union and ASEAN served as dual growth drivers, with Zhejiang's trade with the EU and ASEAN up 11.1 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively. Exports to emerging markets also expanded, rising 6.0 percent to the Middle East, 4.8 percent to Latin America, and 9.3 percent to Africa.

The province is shifting from labor-intensive to technology-driven exports. From January to May, exports of electromechanical products jumped 12.6 percent year-on-year, accounting for 47.3 percent of total exports and contributing 5.8 percentage points to overall export growth. Ship exports totaled 10.48 billion yuan, up 18.2 percent.

Imports also showed signs of optimization. High-tech product imports reached 40.48 billion yuan, up 28.1 percent, while imports of electronic components surged 38.4 percent.

Zhejiang is embedding artificial intelligence across the foreign trade supply chain. In Yiwu, known as the "world's supermarket", authorities have launched China's first large language model for the trade sector, capable of automatically converting videos into 36 languages.

Meanwhile, Hangzhou Customs rolled out an AI-powered intellectual property filing platform that assists companies with application submissions, data updates, and standardized documentation — accelerating the global reach of domestic brands.