Containers are shipped at Qingdao Port, Shandong province. [Photo/VCG]

In the first three quarters of 2022, Qingdao's total imports and exports value increased by 7.5 percent year-on-year to 665.41 billion yuan ($92.23 billion), accounting for 27.2 percent of Shandong's total figure, according to data released by Qingdao Customs.

Over this period, the city's exports surged by 13.2 percent to 395.39 billion yuan, while imports totaled 270.02 billion yuan, up 0.1 percent. Among the 15 sub-provincial cities in China, Qingdao's foreign trade volume ranked fifth after Shenzhen, Ningbo, Guangzhou and Xiamen.

From January to September, Qingdao's general trade imports and exports increased by 4.7 percent to 443.29 billion yuan, accounting for 66.6 percent of the city's total.

Its bonded logistics imports and exports totaled 112.12 billion yuan, up 31.9 percent, while imports and exports of processing trade stood at 93.44 billion yuan, up 3.5 percent.

Private enterprises continue to dominate the city's foreign trade. During this period, the foreign trade volume of private enterprises in Qingdao increased by 12.1 percent to 461.26 billion yuan, accounting for 69.3 percent of the city's total.

Qingdao is a strategic hub in the network of global trade routes. [Photo/VCG]

The figure for local foreign-invested enterprises was 117.62 billion yuan, down 8.1 percent, while the figure for State-owned enterprises amounted to 86.34 billion yuan, up 10.2 percent.

The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the United States and the European Union were the top three trading markets for Qingdao during this period. Qingdao's exports and imports to ASEAN and the US reached 124.51 billion yuan and 77.72 billion yuan, up 27.9 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively. Its trade with the EU reached 71.02 billion yuan, down 4.1 percent.