Tonghai Port, part of the Nantong Port. [Photo by Xu Congjun to en.nantong.gov.cn]

Nantong in Jiangsu province saw its foreign trade hit a record high in the first half of 2026, surpassing the 200 billion yuan ($29.54 billion) mark for the first time in a six-month period, according to Nantong Customs.

The city's total imports and exports amounted to 222.67 billion yuan between January and June, up 11.5 percent year-on-year, ranking the city fourth in the province. Exports rose 11.8 percent to 148.91 billion yuan, while imports climbed 10.8 percent to 73.76 billion yuan.

Nantong saw balanced growth across both traditional and emerging markets. Trade with the European Union reached 38.63 billion yuan, up 32.5 percent, while trade with ASEAN rose 28.8 percent to 38.32 billion yuan. Exports to Japan increased 13.1 percent to 17 billion yuan. Shipments to the United States posted growth for three consecutive months, signaling a clear recovery trend.

The city's exports continued shifting toward higher-value technology sectors. Machinery and electronic products, Nantong's largest export category, reached 87.15 billion yuan, up 16.2 percent and accounting for 58.5 percent of total exports. Ship exports grew 6.1 percent, while wire and cable shipments surged 52.2 percent.

Imports of production materials remained strong. Machinery and electronic product imports reached 25.43 billion yuan, up 39 percent. Raw material imports also accelerated, with xylene rising 94.7 percent and copper and copper products surging 215.9 percent.