Ningbo's imports and exports reached 917.03 billion yuan ($136.8 billion) in 2019, according to statistics from local customs authorities.

The figure represented a year-on-year increase of 6.9 percent, much faster than the national average of 3 percent last year.

This is the first time that the city's foreign trade volume has exceeded 900 billion yuan.

Its imports totaled 320.06 billion yuan last year, rising by 5.8 percent, while exports amounted to 596.97 billion yuan, an increase of 7.6 percent, according to Ningbo Customs.

Private enterprises made up the majority of the city's foreign trade volume over the 12-month period.

Imports and exports of private enterprises stood at 619.39 billion yuan, accounting for 67.5 percent of the city's total.

The EU, United States and ASEAN remained the city's top three trading partners.

Official data shows that Ningbo's trade value with the EU and ASEAN stood at 188.12 billion yuan, and 97.69 billion yuan respectively.

The city also experienced fast trade growth with Australia and Russia last year, registering an uptick of 21 percent and 17.1 percent respectively thanks to the increase in resource commodity imports such as refined oil and grains from the two countries.

Exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 329.79 billion yuan, up 8.2 percent and accounting for 55.2 percent of the total exports last year.

Notably, an increasing number of local companies are tapping into markets in countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

In 2019, Ningbo's trade with BRI countries soared 16.9 percent to 261.01 billion yuan. Its trade with 17 CEEC countries reached 28.48 billion yuan, a yearly increase of 8.4 percent.