A container ship docks at Ningbo Zhoushan Port in East Chinas Zhejiang province. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

Ningbo's imports and exports amounted to 563.89 billion yuan ($86.75 billion) in the first half of this year,  representing an increase of 30.7 percent year-on-year, according to official statistics from Ningbo Customs.

Specifically, its exports stood at 358.16 billion yuan, rising by 28.4 percent, while its import volume reached 205.73 billion yuan, up 35 percent.

In June alone, Ningbo's foreign trade volume surged 14.9 percent to 103.62 billion yuan.

Private enterprises again made up the lion's share of the city's foreign trade volume over the six-month period.

Imports and exports of private enterprises expanded 31.9 percent year-on-year to 396.81 billion yuan, accounting for 70.4 percent of the city's total.

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

The trade valued between Ningbo and the three aforementioned economies was valued at 99.08 billion yuan, 95.91 billion yuan, and 60.24 billion yuan respectively, up 27.3 percent, 33.9 percent and 24.7 percent respectively, with the combined value accounting for 45.3 percent of the city's total trade.

In addition, the city's trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative increased 29.5 percent to 155.7 billion yuan, accounting for 27.6 percent of its total trade.

As a prime category of export commodities from Ningbo, exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 204.87 billion yuan, an increase of 37.3 percent and accounting for 57.2 percent of the city's total exports.

Exports of labor-intensive products during the period stood at 85.59 billion yuan, an uptick of 6.3 percent year-on-year.

In terms of imports, the city imported 25.98 billion yuan worth of metal ore and ore sand from January to June, up 100.7 percent year-on-year.