A port in Qidong, Nantong. [Photo/WeChat account: qidongfabu]

From January to April, Qidong's total foreign trade reached 13.06 billion yuan ($1.93 billion), up 29.4 percent year on year. Exports amounted to 8.42 billion yuan, up 2.3 percent, while imports stood at 4.64 billion yuan, surging by 1.5 times.

General trade registered 6.30 billion yuan, up 14.5 percent, accounting for 48.2 percent of the total. Processing trade totaled 6.70 billion yuan, up 46.3 percent, accounting for 51.3 percent of the total.

The foreign trade of Qidong's private enterprises jumped by 67.2 percent to 6.99 billion yuan. State-owned enterprises recorded 3.06 billion yuan, while foreign-invested enterprises reached 2.99 billion yuan.

Exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 6.86 billion yuan, up 0.3 percent, accounting for 81.5 percent of the city's total exports. Imports of mechanical and electrical products soared 1.5 times to 3.86 billion yuan.

Trade with countries under the Belt and Road Initiative totaled 5.84 billion yuan, up 16.3 percent.