Foreign trade of Shanghai rises 3.5% in Q1

Shanghai's imports and exports reached 1.05 trillion yuan (US$152.3 billion) in the first quarter of this year, up 3.5 percent year on year, local customs said Sunday.

Over the period, Shanghai's imports rose 6.9 percent year on year to 639.32 billion yuan, while its exports dropped 1.4 percent to 407.78 billion yuan, data from Shanghai Customs showed.

The city's trade with the European Union, its largest trading partner, reached 212.4 billion yuan, up 8.2 percent year on year, accounting for 20.3 percent of the city's total foreign trade volume in the first quarter.

Shanghai's trade with other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) rose 3.6 percent and that with countries along the Belt and Road grew by 2.3 percent, accounting for 33.6 percent and 22.4 percent of the total, respectively.