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Customs officials inspect goods. [Photo/jiaxingren.com]

Jiaxing's foreign trade saw a remarkable upswing in the first quarter, with a total trade value of goods hitting 113.68 billion yuan ($15.68 billion), a 10.8 percent year-on-year increase. Exports totaled 84.33 billion yuan, up by 7.7 percent, while imports surged by 20.6 percent, reaching 29.34 billion yuan.

Exports to Africa and India rose sharply, increasing by 37.1 percent and 39 percent, respectively, and driving the city's export growth rate up by 3.5 percentage points.

The European Union, ASEAN, and the United States were the top three export markets of the city, with exports reaching 15.35 billion yuan, 14.09 billion yuan and 12.33 billion yuan, respectively. Exports to the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative expanded 17.9 percent to 37.76 billion yuan, accounting for 44.8 percent of total exports.

Imports from ASEAN and the US grew significantly, with ASEAN imports up by 43.9 percent and US imports by 170 percent. Imports from countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative also increased by 15.8 percent, comprising 54.1 percent of the total imports.

Labor-intensive product exports increased 16.7 percent, with textiles, plastics, and bags showing notable increases. Mechanical and electrical product exports saw a marginal growth of 0.4 percent, while high-tech product exports declined by 17.1 percent. Organic chemical exports increased by 36.1 percent.

Imports of mechanical and electrical products saw a 44.2 percent surge, with significant growth in flat-panel display modules and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, which collectively boosted the city's import growth rate by 12.7 percentage points.