Container ships dock in Qingdao Port, Shandong province, on Jan 24, 2022. [Photo/IC]

East China's Shandong province saw its foreign trade grow 14.5 percent year-on-year to a total of 447.55 billion yuan ($70.49 billion) in the first two months of 2022, according to data from local customs authorities.

During this period, the province's exports totaled 264.27 billion yuan, up 19.4 percent, 5.8 percentage points higher than the national average, while its imports reached 183.28 billion yuan, up 8 percent, 4.9 percentage points lower than the national figure.

The import and export value of Qingdao and Yantai continued to be in the front rank in the province, accounting for 29.5 percent and 13.4 percent of the provincial total, respectively. Zaozhuang, Weifang and Jining also posted fast growth, with an increase of 111.8 percent, 55.7 percent and 51.5 percent, respectively.

From January to February, the general trade import and export in Shandong stood at 297.57 billion yuan, up 10.6 percent and accounting for 66.5 percent of the total figure. The import and export value of processing trade totaled 66.7 billion yuan, down 3.2 percent, accounting for 14.9 percent of the provincial total. The import and export value of bonded logistics reached 74.77 billion yuan, up 71.5 percent and accounted for 16.7 percent of total figure.

Private enterprises continue to dominate the province's foreign trade. In the first two months of the year, the imports and exports of private enterprises in Shandong reached 313.5 billion yuan, up 16.9 percent and accounted for 70 percent of the total.

Imports and exports of foreign-invested enterprises reached 89.26 billion yuan, down 0.5 percent, accounting for 19.9 percent of total. The foreign trade of State-owned enterprises reached 44.52 billion yuan, up 36.9 percent and accounted for 9.9 percent of the provincial total.

Shandong's import and export to ASEAN reached 67.96 billion yuan, up 36.9 percent. Its trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative totaled 153.15 billion yuan, up 27.2 percent. Its trade with other RCEP members reached 156.7 billion yuan, an increase of 21.2 percent.