Loading and unloading takes place at Ningbo Zhoushan port. [Photo/tidenews.com.cn]

On Jan 1, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and six other countries joined the BRICS partnership – helping to inject new energy into Ningbo, in terms of its commerce within the BRICS family.

At Ningbo Zhuyun Home Products Co Ltd, workers are busy producing furniture for the Malaysian market. "Malaysia has always been one of our key export destinations," said Chen Shanjuan, sales manager of the company.

"We're very optimistic about these new markets. Our 2024 designs have been well-received in Malaysia and from January to November in 2024, our exports to Malaysia exceeded 3 million yuan ($410,989), a year-on-year growth of over 90 percent," Chen added.

Ningbo Customs reported that from January to November in 2024, Ningbo's trade with the BRICS family – including the new partners – reached 296.98 billion yuan, up 9.6 percent year-on-year.

Exports rose by 13 percent to 176.8 billion yuan, while imports increased by 4.9 percent to 120.18 billion yuan. Specifically, trade with the new BRICS partners totaled 113.2 billion yuan, up a hefty 22.4 percent, with exports up 29.5 percent and imports up 16.2 percent.

Ningbo Wohong Metal Co Ltd has also benefited from the expanded BRICS partnership. "Our cooperation with these partner countries has been stable and we expect closer cooperation with these countries," said a company spokesperson.

Private enterprises were leading the growth from January to November in 2024, with their trade accounting for 82.1 percent of Ningbo's total trade with BRICS partners – showing a 25.3 percent increase from the previous year.