Another vital factor lies in the expansion of the city's large corporations. By the end of November, 2018, the city witnessed 10, 27 and 157 companies exceeding 1 billion, 500 million and 100 million dollars in foreign trade, respectively. 

Notably, China Base Ningbo Group, the city's foreign trade champion, hit 3 billion dollars in imports and exports last year, becoming the first private company in Ningbo to achieve such a figure. 

In addition, the city's foreign trade product structure was greatly improved, with its mechanical and electrical products claiming 54.9 percent of the city's total exports, up 12.1 percent year on year. 

Experts have pointed out that as the cost of land and labor increases with the development of a city, labor-intensive enterprises are losing competitiveness while those that are capital and technology-intensive are facing the opposite scenario. 

The mechanical and electrical products, with no intensive labor needed, thus enjoyed large growth in exports. Auto parts, plastic products and containers also experienced growth.

"We will launch further measures to ensure the city's foreign trade maintains the 3.4 percent of the nation's total, or above, in 2019," said an official of the city's business bureau.

Many containers pile up at the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port. [Photo/zj.zjol.com]