Ningbo's trade with ASEAN surges in first eight months

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port. [Photo/Yongpai App]

Ningbo's trade with ASEAN continued to expand this year, with the city's imports and exports with the bloc reaching 156.56 billion yuan ($23.34 billion) in the first eight months, up 12.1 percent year-on-year, according to Ningbo Customs.

ASEAN was Ningbo's second-largest trading partner during the period. Exports to ASEAN rose 22 percent to 93.84 billion yuan, driven by strong demand for electrical and mechanical products, high-tech goods, and labor-intensive products.

Ningbo Aromage Home Products, for example, exported more than 100 million yuan worth of products to ASEAN in the first eight months, more than 12 times the figure recorded a year earlier. The company produces key materials and components in China before shipping them to production bases in Southeast Asia for filling and final assembly, allowing it to leverage China's supply chain strengths while responding more flexibly to overseas market demand.

Meanwhile, Ningbo imported 62.73 billion yuan worth of goods from ASEAN, mainly mineral and agricultural products. Among them, nickel hydrometallurgical intermediates have become increasingly important to Ningbo's new energy materials industry. Ningbo Ronbay Technology imported 89.734 million yuan worth of such products and other resource goods from ASEAN, up 5.81 times year-on-year.

Ningbo Customs has also streamlined inspection and valuation procedures to facilitate the efficient import of resource-based products.