Qingdao Port [Photo by ZHANG JINGANG/FOR CHINA DAILY]

According to Qingdao customs statistics, in the first seven months of this year, the total value of Qingdao's foreign trade hit 499.98 billion yuan ($73.95 billion), an increase of 5.3 percent year-on-year, and accounted for 26.5 percent of the provincial total.

During this period, the city's exports reached 296.15 billion yuan, up 11.6 percent, while imports stood at 203.83 billion yuan, down 2.7 percent.

Among the 15 sub-provincial cities in China, Qingdao's imports and exports value ranked fifth after Shenzhen, Ningbo, Guangzhou and Xiamen.

In July, Qingdao's imports and exports reached 90.28 billion yuan, hitting a record high, increasing 19.6 percent year-on-year.

In the first seven months, Qingdao's general trade imports and exports reached 338.02 billion yuan, up 3.9 percent, and accounted for 67.6 percent of the city's total. Bonded logistics imports and exports totaled 79.19 billion yuan, up 22.2 percent. Imports and exports of processing trade reached 69.71 billion yuan, up 0.1 percent.

Private enterprises continued to dominate the city's foreign trade. From January to July, the imports and exports of private enterprises in Qingdao reached 343.87 billion yuan, up 7.9 percent, and accounted for 68.8 percent of the city's total.

The imports and exports of foreign-invested enterprises and State-owned enterprises reached 90.96 billion yuan and 64.99 billion yuan, respectively, down 7.7 percent and up 14.8 percent.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United States and the European Union were Qingdao's top three trading partners. During this period, Qingdao's trade with ASEAN and the US reached 88.49 billion yuan and 60.27 billion yuan, respectively, up 12.8 percent and 10.9 percent. Its trade with the EU reached 54.58 billion yuan, down 4.8 percent.