Qingdao, Shandong province [Photo/IC]

In the first four months of this year, the foreign trade value of Qingdao posted a year-on-year growth of 10.8 percent, hitting 288.24 billion yuan ($41.08 billion), which accounted for 27.9 percent of the provincial total, according to the latest statistics of Qingdao Customs.

Among the country's 15 sub-provincial cities, Qingdao ranked fifth after Shenzhen, Ningbo, Guangzhou, and Xiamen in terms of foreign trade volume.

In the Jan-April period, Qingdao's general trade imports and exports reached 189.43 billion yuan, an increase of 8.9 percent year-on-year, accounting for 65.7 percent of the city's total.

Its imports and exports of bonded logistics hit 54.06 billion yuan, up 26.8 percent, while its processing trade stood at 41.14 billion yuan, up 12.2 percent.

Qingdao Port [Photo/IC]

Private enterprises continued to dominate the city's foreign trade. Over this period, the imports and exports of private enterprises in Qingdao reached 208.35 billion yuan, an increase of 20.7 percent, accounting for 72.3 percent of the city's total.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United States, and the European Union remained the city's top three trading markets, with trade volume hitting 52.31 billion yuan, 32.9 billion yuan, and 30.22 billion yuan, up 27.4 percent, 5.3 percent, and 4.8 percent, respectively.

Qingdao's trade with RCEP member states reached 110.15 billion yuan, up 10.2 percent, while its trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative hit 104.55 billion yuan, up 28.6 percent.