A busy port in Nantong. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]

The foreign trade of Nantong in Jiangsu province expanded by 4.4 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year to 173.96 billion yuan ($23.95 billion), ranking fourth in the province.

The city's exports rose 4.7 percent year-on-year to 112.52 billion yuan, while imports gained 3.8 percent to 61.44 billion yuan during the period.

In the second quarter of this year, the import and export value of Nantong experienced a significant increase of 10.2 percent, totaling 89.86 billion yuan and growing for the first time in four quarters.

In June alone, the city's exports grew 7.8 percent to 19.22 billion yuan, marking the fourth consecutive month of positive growth.

The cross-border e-commerce business in Nantong increased over 60 percent in the Jan-June period, the fifth-highest growth rate in the province, up one spot from previous year.

The exports of mechanical and electrical products and labor-intensive products in the city climbed 6.7 percent and 6.9 percent in the first six months of this year to 55.98 billion yuan and 29.48 billion yuan, respectively, collectively accounting for 75.59 percent of the city's total value.

The city's imports of integrated circuits, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and sorting equipment saw year-on-year increases of 72.1 percent, 83.4 percent, and 168.2 percent, respectively.

With an apparent increase in foreign trade entities, Nantong's import and export value is expected to remain stable between 28 billion yuan and 32 billion yuan in the second half of this year.