Chongqing- In the first three quarters of 2020, Chongqing’s total foreign trade value reached 461.39 billion yuan, up 11.4% year on year, according to data released by Chongqing’s customs authority.

In breakdown, the city’s total export increased by 10.3% to 291.01 billion yuan, and total import increased by 13.3% to 170.38 billion yuan. While a much bigger growth was seen in September alone, its total foreign trade value surged 18.9% year on year to 63.03 billion yuan, with total export grew 16.9% to 38.93 billion yuan and total import rose 22.1% to 24.1 billion yuan.

Such robust economic recovery from the depth of the COVID-19 pandemic can be ascribed to the following contributing factors:

1. Ever-growing trade volume by the season

Chongqing’s foreign trade in Q1 contracted a substantial 14.2% year on year, but soon bounced back with a 20.7% growth in Q2, and then in Q3 saw an even larger expansion of 25.7%. The positive growth status in the city’s foreign trade has now been further strengthened.

2. Steady growth in processing and general trade

From Q1 to Q3, Chongqing’s foreign processing trade rose 8.3% year on year to 227.73 billion yuan, while its general trade – import and export without processing – grew by 2.2% to 133.85 billion yuan. The foreign trade in bonded logistics also saw a whopping 37.3% growth to 97.25 billion yuan compared with the same period last year.

3. Cross-the-board growth with major trading partners

In the first three quarters, Chongqing’s foreign trade with ASEAN countries rose by 6% year on year to 83.59 billion yuan, accounting for 18.1% of the city’s overall foreign trade volume. ASEAN countries have now become the biggest trading partner of Chongqing. The city’s foreign trade with the European Union and the United States reached 76.96 billion yuan and 72.19 billion yuan, up 11.2% and 3.7% year on year respectively.

Meanwhile, the city’s trade with the Taiwan region, Hong Kong SAR, and Japan reached 36.95 billion yuan, 25.26 billion yuan, and 19.36 billion yuan, up 42.3%, 120%, and 11.8% year on year respectively. What’s more, the city’s foreign trade with the “Belt & Road” countries also saw a 12% growth year on year to 129.64 billion yuan.

4. A bigger supporting role of private enterprises

From January to September, Chongqing’s foreign trade for private enterprises rose 27.2% year on year to 167.11 billion yuan, accounting for 36.2% of the overall foreign trade volume, up 4.5% from the same period last year. The total import and export for foreign-invested companies also saw a 6.7% increase year on year to 257.11 billion yuan.

5. A bigger contribution of special customs-supervised zones

In the nine months, Chongqing’s special customs-supervised zones saw its foreign trade grew by 19.4% year on year to 326.09 billion yuan, accounting for 70.7% of the overall foreign trade volume.

6. Larger export in consumer electronics

From Q1 to Q3, Chongqing’s total export of laptops rose 15.9% year on year to 124.41 billion yuan, while its total export of mobile phones saw a 200% growth year on year to 9.52 billion yuan.

7. Larger import in Integrated circuits, groceries, medicines

In the first three quarters, Chongqing’s total import of integrated circuits grew by 25.8% year on year to 77.09 billion yuan, with a 4.5% increase in its percentage of the overall import volume. Meanwhile, the total import of fruits, meat, medicinal ingredients, and drugs grew by 210%, 44.5%, and 370% year on year to 2.98 billion yuan, 1.62 billion yuan, and 1.29 billion yuan respectively.