A bird's-eye view of the Meishan Port in Zhoushan. [Photo/WeChat account: zjhgwx]

This year, Zhoushan's foreign trade has continued to grow rapidly. According to the municipal commerce bureau, Zhoushan's total import and export value reached a record of 179.14 billion yuan ($24.69 billion) in the first half of the year, marking an 8-percent increase year-on-year.

Exports totaled 61.39 billion yuan, up 15.4 percent, ranking fourth in the province and accounting for 5.06 percent of the national share. Imports reached 117.75 billion yuan, a 4.4-percent increase, ranking fifth in the province and comprising 13.03 percent of the national share.

Zhoushan saw significant growth in its primary export markets, including ASEAN (8.1 percent), Latin America (33.1 percent), Hong Kong (7.1 percent), and the Marshall Islands (40 percent). Key import markets also experienced substantial growth, with Saudi Arabia (72.7 percent), Latin America (38.8 percent), Qatar (158.0 percent), and Oman (16.5 percent) leading the way. From January to June, exports to RCEP member countries increased by 37.7 percent, while exports to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative grew by 16.9 percent to 17.09 billion yuan.

In the first half of the year, refined oil exports rose by 7.0 percent to 35.69 billion yuan, mechanical and electrical product exports surged by 38.2 percent to 18.34 billion yuan, and seafood exports increased by 21.4 percent to 3.97 billion yuan.

On the import side, crude oil imports grew by 2.5 percent to 88.57 billion yuan, refined oil imports increased by 3.9 percent to 8.18 billion yuan, iron ore imports jumped by 48.3 percent to 5.38 billion yuan, and copper concentrate imports soared by 254.4 percent to 2.28 billion yuan.

Looking ahead, Zhoushan's commerce system will focus on advancing the No 1 Open Project and leveraging the free trade zone platform to strive for an annual high of 370 billion yuan in total import and export value.