Imports and exports in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province reached a record high of 592.56 billion yuan ($84.31 billion) in 2019, an increase of 11.2 percent year on year, according to statistics from the Qingdao bureau of commerce.

The growth rate was 5.4 percentage points higher than that of the whole province and 7.8 percentage points higher than that of the whole country.

Its exports were valued at 341.19 billion yuan, up 7.4 percent year on year, while its imports totaled 251.37 billion yuan, up 16.9 percent.

The total value of imports and exports in Qingdao accounted for 29 percent of Shandong's total and contributed 54.1 percent of the province's growth in foreign trade.

Local authorities said that the structure of Qingdao's foreign trade is constantly being adjusted and optimized.

Last year, processing trade in the city was valued at 116.85 billion yuan, down 3.7 percent, and it accounted for just 20 percent of Qingdao's foreign trade, down from a historical high of 60 percent. General foreign trade exceeded 373.4 billion yuan, an increase of 12.2 percent, and accounting for 63 percent of all foreign trade.

A fully automated container terminal at the Port of Qingdao in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province. [Photo/VCG]

In addition, the city's exports of mechanical and electrical products were valued at 144.49 billion yuan in 2019, accounting for 42.4 percent of the city's total exports.

The imports and exports of local private enterprises increased 21.8 percent, accounting for nearly 60 percent of all foreign trade.

The European Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, United States, South Korea, and Japan were Qingdao's main trading partners, accounting for 57.2 percent of the city's total foreign trade.

Exports to ASEAN countries increased by 40.2 percent, trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative increased by 30 percent, and trade with Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states increased by 17 percent.

Cross-border e-commerce is also currently seeing a boom in the city. Last year, cross-border e-commerce exports and exports reached 48.43 billion yuan, up 41.4 percent.

Qingdao has been ramping up efforts to develop a foreign trade service platform to help small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises expand into overseas markets and increase export capacity.

National strategies such as local economic and trade cooperation between China and the SCO, the Qingdao Area of the China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and the Belt and Road Initiative have also brought policy benefits and important opportunities for the development of local foreign trade.