Shanghai's foreign trade up 19 pct in H1

Shanghai's foreign trade grew 19 percent year on year to 1.88 trillion yuan (290.1 billion U.S. dollars) during the first half of 2021 (H1), customs authorities said Tuesday.

In H1, exports in Shanghai rose by 9.6 percent to 703.78 billion yuan, while imports went up 25.4 percent to 1.18 trillion yuan.

Shanghai's foreign trade increased by 19.3 percent to 340.27 billion yuan in June. Its exports grew 10.9 percent while imports shot up by 24.8 percent.

In the January-June period, the foreign trade of private enterprises in Shanghai reached 508.31 billion yuan, up 35.5 percent, accounting for 27 percent of the total trade value.

Trade of foreign-invested enterprises during the period was 1.16 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.9 percent, taking up a 61.8-percent share in the total.

The European Union continues to be Shanghai's top trading partner, with bilateral trade up 27.8 percent to 384.38 billion yuan in H1.