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Humanoid robots work at a smart factory of electric car manufacturer Zeekr in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, on March 1. [Photo/Yu Changsheng for China Daily]

Zhejiang province in East China kicked off 2025 with a stable performance across multiple sectors, according to data released by the Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Statistics on March 21.

The figures, covering January and February, reflect resilience in retail, trade, and transportation.

Retail sales of consumer goods reached 603.9 billion yuan ($83.29 billion) in the first two months, marking a 2.7 percent increase from the same period last year. Within this, retail goods climbed 2.5 percent to 544.7 billion yuan, while dining saw a stronger uptick of 4.2 percent, totaling 59.2 billion yuan in revenue.

In trade, Zhejiang's imports and exports totaled 844.7 billion yuan, up 3.3 percent year-on-year. Exports surged 5.5 percent to 633.2 billion yuan, while imports dipped 3.0 percent to 211.5 billion yuan.

The province maintained its competitive edge nationally, accounting for 12.9 percent of China's total trade, 16.3 percent of exports, and 8.0 percent of imports — securing its rank as the country's third-largest trading hub, second in exports, and fifth in imports.

In the same period, passenger traffic rose 3.9 percent to 88.21 million people, with rail travel up 5.0 percent and road travel edging up 0.8 percent. Freight volume painted an even brighter picture, soaring 8.0 percent to 537 million metric tons. Road freight jumped 10.9 percent, and waterway shipments grew 3.4 percent.