The Changsha Customs Authority announced on August 10 that in the first seven months of this year, Hunan's total import and export value reached 343.86 billion CNY, up 11.6% year on year. Exports amounted to 195.25 billion CNY, growing by 4%, while imports stood at 148.61 billion CNY, surging by 23.4%.

At an arts and crafts company in Jinming Village, Xupu County, Huaihua, workers were busy processing ordinary silk fabric and plastic into vibrant, lifelike artificial flowers. "In the past, we sold just over 500,000 artificial flowers domestically. Now, nearly 5 million stems have been sold overseas," said Zhong Guanggao, the head of the company. He kept a close eye on the production line to ensure on-time delivery of the overseas orders. In the first half of the year, the company's export value hit 11 million CNY, double the figure for the same period last year.

In the first seven months, the number of enterprises in Hunan that actually engaged in import and export activities reached 8,774, increasing by 21% year on year, among them the number of exporting enterprises growing by 23.2%. Private enterprises registered 277.39 billion CNY in imports and exports, rising 15.6% and accounting for 80% of the province's total foreign trade volume.

The vitality of enterprises continued to be unleashed, while their market presence expanded. During the January-July period, Hunan's trade with traditional markets, including the United States, the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong of China, totaled 95.5 billion CNY, up 12.7% and contributing 3.5 percentage points to the province's overall foreign trade growth.

Exports of electromechanical products and the "new three" products, namely electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic cells, posted steady growth. In the first seven months, Hunan exported electromechanical products valued at 117.02 billion CNY, up 9.9%, with their share of the province's total exports rising to nearly 60%. Among these, exports of automobiles and construction machinery grew by 29.6% and 26.2%, respectively, together contributing 5.7 percentage points to Hunan's export growth over the same period. Exports of the "new three" products reached 14.33 billion CNY, up 26.6%.

Changsha continues to lead Hunan's foreign trade, with its imports and exports in the first seven months reaching 181.18 billion CNY, up 11.3% and accounting for over half of the province's total. Nine cities and one prefecture—Chenzhou, Yueyang, Xiangtan, Zhuzhou, Hengyang, Changde, Loudi, Yiyang, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, and Zhangjiajie—all recorded growth to varying degrees in imports and exports.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.
 
Translator: Pang Yuehui
 
Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn