Imports and exports in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province were valued at 150.36 billion yuan ($23.27 billion) in the first half of this year, up 27 percent year-on-year and 7.1 percentage points higher than the province's average growth rate, according to the city's customs department.

Statistics show that the city's exports increased 27.8 percent year-on-year to 100.78 billion yuan, while imports rose 25.4 percent to 49.58 billion yuan.

Foreign trade in June set a new record of 26.25 billion yuan, up 38.9 percent year-on-year and marking the 11th consecutive month of positive growth since August 2020.

According to an executive at a local machinery parts manufacturer, there has been an increasing demand for gantries in Europe and the Americas since early this year and the company has been taking steps to optimize its products to meet client requirements. 

The executive added that the company's sales in the aforementioned markets grew more than 20 percent year-on-year from January to June.

This is just one example of local private companies making adjustments to meet the changes in different markets. In the first half of this year, the imports and exports of Nantong's private sector totaled 71.93 billion yuan, up 26.5 percent year-on-year and accounting for 47.8 percent of the city's total foreign trade volume.

During this period, Nantong's trade with its major partners – the European Union, ASEAN countries, the United States and Japan – increased 30.6 percent, 20.1 percent, 29.6 percent and 1.3 percent respectively. The total amount accounted for 50.4 percent of the city's total imports and exports.