The foreign trade of Shandong province increased by 7.5 percent year-on-year in 2020, hitting 2.2 trillion yuan (about $340.7 billion), according to a report at a news conference held on Jan 29 by the Information Office of the Shandong Provincial People's Government.

Last year, the province's exports were valued at 1.31 trillion yuan, up 17.3 percent year-on-year, while imports totaled 895.46 billion yuan, down 4.1 percent.

Customs officials in Qingdao, Shandong province, inspect a freight train bound for Azerbaijan. [Photo by Xie Hao/For China Daily]

In 2020, the Shandong government launched targeted measures to push for the resumption of work to minimize losses caused by the outbreak, as well as intensified efforts to stabilize foreign trade and investment and ensure the smooth operation of foreign trade industrial and supply chains.

Over the past year, the cargo throughput of the province's ports reached 1.69 billion tons, while container throughput reached 31.91 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), ranking second and fourth in China, respectively.

The throughput of foreign trade cargo reached 873 million tons, up 5.2 percent year-on-year, maintaining a national lead.

Last year, there were 2,313 newly established foreign-funded service enterprises in Shandong province, up 24.2 percent year-on-year, and the province's actual utilized foreign capital was valued at $12.44 billion, up 26.1 percent year-on-year.

South Korean and Japanese investment in Shandong increased significantly, up 136.4 percent and 115.7 percent, respectively.