In the first quarter of this year, the total import and export value of Huai'an reached RMB 12.13 billion, a year-on-year increase of 32.1%. Among them, exports amounted to RMB 9.5 billion, an increase of 33.2% compared to the same period last year, while imports reached RMB 2.63 billion, a year-on-year increase of 28.2%.

Exports of electromechanical and labor-intensive products have grown rapidly, and the import of production equipment has steadily expanded. In the first quarter, the export of electromechanical products from Huai'an reached RMB 5.88 billion, a year-on-year increase of 61.6%. The export of labor-intensive products amounted to RMB 1.51 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.4%. Additionally, steel exports reached RMB 220 million, a surge of 150.6% compared to the same period last year, and food exports amounted to RMB 88.268 million, a year-on-year growth of 28.8%. In the first quarter, the import of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, measuring and testing instruments, machine tools, and other equipment reached RMB 620 million, a substantial increase of 155.6% year on year.

Traditional markets have continued to consolidate, while emerging markets have shown positive growth momentum. In the first quarter, Huai'an's imports and exports with the European Union and ASEAN reached RMB 2.54 billion and RMB 2.25 billion, with year-on-year growth rates of 46.4% and 63.5% respectively. Imports and exports with India, South Korea, and the Middle East reached RMB 910 million, RMB 710 million, and RMB 540 million, with year-on-year growth rates of 75.2%, 39.1%, and 67.9% respectively, showing significantly faster growth than the overall average. Imports and exports with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reached RMB 5.42 billion, a year-on-year increase of 60.9%, indicating a positive development trend in trade with these countries.

The number of market entities has increased, and the private economy has remained vibrant. In the first quarter, Huai'an had 981 foreign trade enterprises with actual import and export performance, an increase of 107 compared to the same period last year, representing a growth rate of 12.2%. The number of foreign trade entities steadily increased. Among them, private enterprises achieved imports and exports of RMB 8.72 billion, a year-on-year increase of 50.3%, accounting for 71.9% of the total import and export value, an increase of 8.7 percentage points. The role of private enterprises continued to strengthen. Foreign-invested enterprises and state-owned enterprises achieved year-on-year growth rates in imports and exports of 0.2% and 11.6% respectively.