On Sept. 9, data released by Chengdu Customs showed that in the first eight months of this year, Sichuan's total value of goods trade imports and exports reached 724.32 billion yuan, up 6.1% year-on-year. Of this total, exports stood at 394.78 billion yuan, down 3.7%, while imports reached 329.54 billion yuan, hitting a record high for the same period and rising 20.7%.

Electromechanical products remained the mainstay of Sichuan's exports, with the total export value reaching 317.06 billion yuan in the first eight months, down 1.5% and accounting for 80.3% of the province's total exports. Exports of the "new trio" products maintained strong momentum, totaling 22.87 billion yuan, up 13.7%. Specifically, exports of lithium batteries, photovoltaic products, and electric vehicles grew by 23.6%, 17.4%, and 3.3%, respectively.

On the import side, electromechanical products dominated, while imports of consumer goods and spodumene saw rapid growth. In the first eight months, the province's imports of electromechanical products reached 248.1 billion yuan, up 12% and accounting for 75.3% of total imports. During the same period, imports of consumer goods totaled 18.42 billion yuan, up 43.6%, of which food, beverages, and tobacco imports amounted to 14.87 billion yuan, an increase of 43.9%. Additionally, imports of spodumene surged 169.7% to 16.23 billion yuan, while copper material imports rose 66.6% to 9.15 billion yuan.

Regarding trading partners, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remained Sichuan's largest trading market. In the first eight months, Sichuan's trade with ASEAN reached 160.63 billion yuan, up 7.7% and accounting for 22.2% of the province's total foreign trade; trade with the United States stood at 111.58 billion yuan, down 1.2% and accounting for 15.4%; and trade with the European Union reached 111.17 billion yuan, up 4.2% and accounting for 15.3%. During the same period, trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative totaled 314.36 billion yuan, up 3.4% and accounting for 43.4%, while trade with other member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) reached 236.9 billion yuan, up 5.5% and accounting for 32.7%.

Notably, since the beginning of this year, enterprises in Sichuan have accelerated their global expansion, leveraging superior technologies and products to deepen their presence in international markets. In the first eight months, the number of active foreign trade entities in the province exceeded 10,000 for the first time during the same period, reaching 10,114, a year-on-year increase of 18.5%.

【本文部分内容由AI辅助生成，特此声明。The author(s) generated part of the content in this work with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), which is hereby declared.】