Qingdao Port plays an important role in facilitating the city's foreign trade development. [Photo by Yu Fangping/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Qingdao's total import and export value in the first 11 months of this year was 805.67 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.1 percent, which was 4.9 and 3.9 percentage points higher than the country's average and the provincial average respectively, according to Qingdao Customs.

Exports were worth 432.69 billion yuan ($60.55 billion), an increase of 1.6 percent, while imports totaled 372.98 billion yuan, an increase of 12 percent. Among the 15 sub-provincial cities in the country, Qingdao's import and export value is ranked fifth.

Employees work on the assembly line of a carmaker in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo by Zhang Jingang/for chinadaily.com.cn] 

According to the International Monetary Fund, global economic growth will slow further this year, with growth expected to be 3.1 percent, down from 3.4 percent in 2022. The latest forecast from the World Trade Organization states that global trade growth may be only 0.8 percent in 2023.

Despite a slowing global economic growth, Qingdao's foreign trade has continued to grow thanks to the optimization of its foreign trade structure, said the municipal government.

The city's import and export value of general trade with a longer industrial chain and higher added value registered an increase of 6.8 percent, accounting for 64.6 percent of the total import and export value. The export of mechanical and electrical products with stronger competitive advantages and higher degree of smart manufacturing also increased 5.9 percent, accounting for 48.4 percent of the total export value.

Qingdao's import and export value of general trade with a longer industrial chain and higher added value registers an increase of 6.8 percent. [Photo/WeChat account: qd12301]

Imports have become the new driving force of Qingdao's foreign trade growth, especially in terms of growth in crude oil, mechanical and electrical products, refined oil and soybean imports.

The increase in bulk commodity imports reflects the healthy development of the huge petrochemical, metallurgical, rubber and other industries on the Chinese mainland, which also serves as proof of the recovery of domestic demand, experts said.