Reporters learned from the Hefei Municipal Bureau of Commerce on July 24th that in the first half of this year, Hefei City's total value of goods trade imports and exports reached a record high of 205.17 billion yuan, marking a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 22.8%. Among this, exports amounted to 142.24 billion yuan, also hitting a record high with a growth rate of 22.1%. 

Since the beginning of this year, to help enterprises explore international markets, the Hefei Municipal Bureau of Commerce has vigorously implemented the "Anhui Going Global" initiative, encouraging businesses to venture abroad and open up new markets. It has facilitated over 500 instances of local companies participating in domestic and international exhibitions. In the first half of the year, the city's import and export values with its top three trading partners—the European Union (EU), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the United States—grew by 15.4%, 68.1%, and 5.1% respectively. Furthermore, trade with Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries and other member states of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) saw increases of 28.4% and 43.5% respectively.

Additionally, the Hefei Municipal Bureau of Commerce has organized over 20 support activities for foreign trade enterprises—including risk prevention and control measures, bank-enterprise matchmaking sessions, and business training programs—to help local companies go global, secure orders, expand markets, and foster cooperation. Leveraging provincial comprehensive service platforms like Anhui Yidatong, it has incubated small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses with export intentions into achieving actual import and export performance. In the first half of this year, private enterprises saw their total import and export value exceed 100 billion yuan, reaching 100.66 billion yuan with a growth rate of 21%. 

The optimization of export structures continues to provide crucial support for foreign trade development. During this period, the city's mechanical and electrical product exports amounted to 113.49 billion yuan, growing by 21.8%—3.3 percentage points higher than the provincial average—accounting for 80% of total exports. Meanwhile, exports of "new trio" products representing green and low-carbon technologies maintained robust growth momentum, reaching 20.07 billion yuan in H1 with a 30.7% increase. Notably, lithium batteries and electric vehicles posted remarkable growth rates of 114.7% and 71.8% respectively.

Source: Hefei Daily