Uploaded containers are seen at Qingdao Port in Shandong province on Jan 9, 2023. [Photo/VCG]

In recent years, China's trade with other BRICS countries has continued to heat up. Shandong, as a Chinese province that engages in much foreign trade, has also benefited from increasingly close economic and trade ties with other BRICS countries.

According to statistics provided by Qingdao Customs, since the official launch of the BRICS cooperation mechanism in 2009, Shandong's trade volume with the other four members - Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa - has grown at an average annual rate of 13.1 percent.

This is 3.1 percentage points higher than the growth rate of the whole province over the same period.

In the first seven months of 2023, Shandong's trade volume with other BRICS countries reached 286.47 billion yuan ($39.32 billion), up 23.2 percent year-on-year, accounting for 15.4 percent of the province's total foreign trade value over this period.

Mechanical and electrical products are the dominant exports of Shandong. According to Qingdao Customs, among Shandong's exports to other BRICS countries, outbound shipments of mechanical and electrical products account for nearly 50 percent.

In the first seven months, Shandong exported 49.35 billion yuan of mechanical and electrical products to these countries, an increase of 39.3 percent year-on-year, which accounted for 48.9 percent of the total export value. Meanwhile, exports of automobile tires, automobiles and household appliances jumped over 50 percent.

Shandong imports mainly energy resources and agricultural products from other BRICS members. From January to July, the province brought in 99.62 billion yuan of crude oil from them, up 34.9 percent, as well as 38.05 billion yuan of agricultural products, marking an annual increase of 16.3 percent.