Nantong has maintained robust growth in foreign trade in spite of the increasingly complex global economy, local media outlets reported.

According to the city's customs authority, Nantong's imports and exports increased 26.9 percent year-on-year to 178.68 billion yuan ($27.64 billion) from January to July.

The amount ranked fourth among cities in Jiangsu province and accounted for 6.3 percent of the province's total.

The growth rate was 9.5 and 2.4 percentage points higher than the provincial and national average respectively.

Exports were valued at 121.37 billion yuan and imports at 57.31 billion yuan, up 29.7 percent and 21.5 percent respectively.

Foreign trade in July alone was 28.33 billion yuan, up 26.5 percent year-on-year. Exports and imports rose 39.8 percent and 1 percent respectively to 20.59 billion yuan and 7.74 billion yuan.

Imports and exports by general trade still took center stage in the city's foreign trade with a ratio of 70.9 percent, while those of the processing trade accounted for 22.8 percent.

The European Union, Japan and the United States were the top three major export markets of Nantong, with the combined volume up 13.9 percent compared to the same period last year.

Specifically, exports to the EU and the US rose 22.2 percent and 33.8 percent respectively, while exports to Japan dropped 5.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the city's efforts to explore emerging markets had paid off. Exports to ASEAN countries, Africa, Latin America and Oceania increased 12.1 percent, 3.3 percent, 6.9 percent and 3.5 percent respectively.

Behind the growth is the city's vital private sector. From January to July, the sector's foreign trade volume was valued at 85.74 billion yuan, up 23.9 percent year-on-year. Foreign trade exports rose 26.2 percent to 67.5 billion yuan and foreign imports rose 16.1 percent to 18.24 billion yuan.