In the first five months of this year, the total value of Shandong's imports and exports reached 1.07 trillion yuan ($167.56 billion), up 38.9 percent over the same period last year and 33.8 percent over the same period in 2019, local customs authorities announced on June 8.

During this period, the province's exports reached 599.53 billion yuan, up 38.9 percent year-on-year and 40.9 percent over the same period in 2019, while its imports stood at 472.33 billion yuan, up 38.9 percent year-on-year and 25.7 percent over the same period in 2019.

A US cargo ship docks at the Qingdao Port, Shandong province. [Photo by Yu Shaoyue/For China Daily]

All 16 cities in Shandong recorded double-digit growth in imports and exports, with Dongying, Linyi, Yantai, and Weihai seeing growth rates of over 50 percent, reaching 77.6 percent, 67.7 percent, 57.5 percent and 51.8 percent, respectively.

Qingdao continued to lead the city in imports and exports, hitting 315.64 billion yuan, an increase of 33.7 percent and accounting for 29.4 percent of the province's total.

From January to May, Shandong's general trade imports and exports reached a value of 714.35 billion yuan, up 33.9 percent year-on-year and accounting for 66.6 percent of the province's total.

Processing trade imports and exports reached 178.03 billion yuan, up 34.4 percent and accounting for 16.6 percent of the province's total, while the figure for bonded logistics reached 138.23 billion yuan, up 50.3 percent and accounting for 12.9 percent of the province's total.

Private enterprises continue to dominate the province's foreign trade. Over the period, the imports and exports of private enterprises in Shandong reached 740.23 billion yuan, up 41.3 percent and accounting for 69.1 percent of the province's total.

The imports and exports of foreign-funded enterprises in the province reached 235.63 billion yuan, up 33.9 percent and accounting for 22 percent of the province's total, while the figure for State-owned enterprises hit 94.25 billion yuan, up 33.3 percent and accounting for 8.8 percent of the province's total.

In the first five months, ASEAN, the United States, the European Union, South Korea, Japan, and Brazil were the top six trading partners of Shandong.

Shandong's imports and exports to ASEAN reached 154.24 billion yuan, up 51.3 percent; trade with the United States hit 118.3 billion yuan, up 64.8 percent; trade with the EU reached 106.55 billion yuan, up 33.3 percent; trade with South Korea reached 102.02 billion yuan, up 41.5 percent; trade with Japan hit 69.06 billion yuan, up 14.8 percent; and trade with Brazil reached 63.62 billion yuan, up 36.3 percent.