China-Europe freight train service plays an important role in Yiwu's foreign trade. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Yiwu in East China's Zhejiang province saw its foreign trade value grow 22.7 percent year-on-year from January to December of 2022, hitting 478.8 billion yuan ($70.57 billion), according to local customs.

Exports grew 18 percent year-on-year to 431.64 billion yuan, while imports surged 93.5 percent year-on-year to 47.16 billion yuan. Yiwu's foreign trade value accounted for 10.2 percent of the provincial total.

During this period, Yiwu exported goods worth 326.43 billion yuan through market procurement trade, an annual increase of 12.7 percent and accounting for 75.6 percent of the city's total export value. Yiwu's general trade imports and exports increased by 41.7 percent to 127.64 billion yuan.

The city's exports of mechanical and electrical products increased by 24.4 percent to 167.95 billion yuan, accounting for 38.9 percent of Yiwu's total export value and 50.1 percent of the city's export growth. Exports of high-tech products surged about 120 percent year-on-year to 34.78 billion yuan.

Foreign trade between Yiwu and Africa, the European Union, and the United States increased by 10.2 percent, 47.1 percent, and 35.5 percent year-on-year, respectively, amounting to 84.02 billion yuan, 60.45 billion yuan, and 56.21 billion yuan.

Yiwu's trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative increased by 13.3 percent to 183.11 billion yuan. Yiwu's import and export trade with member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement amounted to 77.61 billion yuan, up 14.3 percent year-on-year.