On July 23, according to a press conference held by the Jinan Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, Jinan’s foreign trade has withstood pressure and shown steady growth amid a complex and severe international landscape since the beginning of this year, demonstrating strong resilience. The total value of foreign trade imports and exports reached 124.09 billion yuan, ranking fourth in the province. This represents a year-on-year increase of 25.9%, exceeding the national and provincial averages by 23 and 19.1 percentage points, respectively. Exports alone reached 80.41 billion yuan, up 16.7%.
Imports and exports to emerging markets such as Africa and Latin America saw significant growth. As the diversification of international market layout continues to expand and the demand structure in emerging markets gradually upgrades, Jinan engaged in economic and trade exchanges with 232 countries (regions) in the first half of the year, marking a 3.1% increase. Among these, imports and exports to major emerging markets such as Africa and Latin America reached 15.96 billion yuan and 14.28 billion yuan, respectively, with growth rates of 42.6% and 31.1%. Together, these accounted for 60.3% of Jinan’s total foreign trade value. Additionally, trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 75.39 billion yuan, a 30.3% increase.
Industrial and consumer goods emerged as popular export products. In the first half of the year, Jinan exported 54.27 billion yuan worth of mechanical and electrical products, a 20.7% increase, accounting for 67.5% of the city’s total export value during the same period; steel exports reached 4.64 billion yuan, up 17.6%; and labor-intensive products such as textiles, apparel, and furniture totaled 4.73 billion yuan, a 13.7% increase. Furthermore, as one of the “New Three Products” (electric vehicles, solar photovoltaic products, and lithium batteries), new energy vehicles saw a significant increase in export volume, with export value exceeding 300 million yuan—a 3.5-fold increase—accounting for 76.9% of Jinan’s total export value for the “New Three Products.”
