Guizhou's foreign trade tops $10 billion in 2021

The Guiyang Free Trade Zone, along with the free trade zones in Guian and Zunyi, are in great shape. They contributed 11.47 billion yuan to the value of imports and exports in 2021. [Photo/Guiyang news network]

Southwest China's Guizhou province generated total imports and exports worth 65.42 billion yuan ($10.13 billion) in 2021 – up 19.7 percent year-on-year and the best performance recorded since 2016, according to the latest statistics.

Among the cities administered by the province, the capital Guiyang had the biggest amount of imports and exports, accounting for about 80 percent of Guizhou's total. Moreover, it was also the only city with foreign trade exceeding 10 billion yuan in Guizhou.

Last year, Guizhou's exports hit 48.71 billion yuan, a rise of 13 percent year-on-year. Furthermore, imports came in at 16.71 billion yuan, up 44.6 percent year-on-year. As a result, the balance of trade was 32.01 billion yuan.

In 2021, Guizhou's main trade partners were Hong Kong, ASEAN countries, Australia, Taiwan and the United States – with trade worth 18.63 billion yuan, 9.11 billion yuan, 4.57 billion yuan, 4.5 billion yuan and 3.1 billion yuan, respectively.

During the period, the value of Guizhou's imports and exports with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and members of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) increased by 26.4 percent and 30.6 percent year-on-year, respectively.

Guizhou's processing trade and bonded logistics reportedly showed rapid growth in 2021. The import and export value of its processing trade increased by 53.9 percent year-on-year, while the bonded logistics trade increased by 94.4 percent year-on-year.

Guizhou's private sector accounted for 59.5 percent of Guizhou's total foreign trade in 2021 and State-owned enterprises generated 23.09 billion yuan of the value of the province's imports and exports.

In 2021, Guizhou's three free trade zones – in Guiyang, the Guian New Area and Zunyi – achieved a total import and export value of 11.47 billion yuan, surging 54.4 percent year-on-year.

Over the year, Guiyang Customs reportedly participated in the BRI and expanded the operations of China-Europe freight trains. It also supported the construction of the Shuanglong air hub, supported the development of cross-border e-commerce, boosted the upgrade of free trade zones and helped companies benefit from RCEP policies.