Ningbo's imports and exports amounted to 872.98 billion yuan ($134.3 billion) in the first three quarters of this year, rising 22.5 percent year-on-year, official statistics from Ningbo Customs show. 

Specifically, its exports totaled 557.42 billion yuan, up 20 percent year-on-year, while its import volume stood at 315.56 billion yuan, an increase of 27.2 percent.

Private enterprises were still the main drivers of the city's foreign trade growth in the nine-month period.

From January to September, imports and exports of private enterprises from Ningbo surged 21.4 percent year-on-year to 614.34 billion yuan, accounting for 70.4 percent of the city's total.                          

The city's top three trading partners during the period were the European Union, the United States, and ASEAN.

In the first nine months of this year, trade between Ningbo and the three aforementioned economies was valued at 154.33 billion yuan, 153.08 billion yuan, and 92.42 billion yuan respectively, up 22 percent, 23.5 percent and 17.6 percent respectively, with the combined value accounting for 45.8 percent of the city's total trade.

In addition, the city's trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative rose 22 percent to 241.28 billion yuan, making up 27.6 percent of its total trade.

Exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 320.47 billion yuan, up 27.3 percent and accounting for 57.5 percent of the city's total exports.

As for imports, the city imported 38.37 billion yuan worth of metal ore and ore sand from January to September, a jump of 65.2 percent year-on-year.    

In September alone, Ningbo's foreign trade volume expanded by 15.1 percent year-on-year to 109.24 billion yuan.