Nantong Customs officers inspect exported goods. [Photo/Nantong Customs]

The imports and exports of Nantong in Jiangsu province expanded by 5.6 percent year-on-year in the first five months of this year to 145.68 billion yuan ($20.06 billion), accounting for 6.6 percent of the provincial total.

In May alone, the city's foreign trade jumped 13.5 percent from the previous year to 30.36 billion yuan, while its exports surged 28.1 percent year-on-year to 20.37 billion yuan, the highest increase rate since August in 2022.

The rapid growth of bonded logistics and cross-border e-commerce imports and exports supported the expansion of Nantong's foreign trade in the Jan-May period with imports and exports via bonded logistics increasing 86.3 percent and those via cross-border e-commerce growing over 70 percent from last year.

The export commodity structure in Nantong has also continued to optimize as the exports of technology-intensive products represented by ships and integrated circuits has increased significantly.

Exports of mechanical and electrical products, ICs, and ships in the city experienced year-on-year increases of 7 percent, 86.3 percent, and 168.3 percent, respectively, in the first five months of this year.

The monthly foreign trade of Nantong is expected to remain at about 30 billion yuan in the short term.