China's Jiangxi posts strong foreign trade growth in H1

NANCHANG, July 19 (Xinhua) -- East China's Jiangxi Province, known for its booming emerging industries, saw robust foreign trade growth in the first half of 2023, local customs authorities said on Wednesday.

Despite the global economic slowdown, Jiangxi's imports and exports grew 6.3 percent year on year to 331.23 billion yuan (about 46 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-June period, according to Nanchang Customs. The growth rate is 4.2 percentage points higher than the national average.

Exports increased 3.3 percent year on year to 249.95 billion yuan, and imports surged 16.7 percent to 81.28 billion yuan, Nanchang Customs said.

Among the fastest-growing exports are solar cells, automobiles and auto parts, and lithium batteries, which rose by 40.7 percent, 62.6 percent and 93.3 percent, respectively.

During the same period, Jiangxi's trade with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member countries reached 117.4 billion yuan, an increase of 8.5 percent.