On September 9, Chengdu Customs released statistics showing that in the first eight months of this year, Sichuan’s total trade in goods reached RMB 724.32 billion, up 6.1% year on year. Exports totaled RMB 394.78 billion, down 3.7%, while imports rose 20.7% to RMB 329.54 billion, reaching a record high for the same period.
In the first eight months, mechanical and electrical products remained the mainstay of Sichuan’s exports, totaling RMB 317.06 billion, down 1.5% and accounting for 80.3% of the province’s total exports. Exports of the “new three" products continued to perform well, reaching RMB 22.87 billion, up 13.7%. Among them, exports of lithium-ion batteries, photovoltaic products and electric vehicles increased by 23.6%, 17.4% and 3.3%, respectively.
On the import side, mechanical and electrical products continued to dominate, while imports of consumer goods and spodumene recorded rapid growth. In the first eight months, Sichuan imported RMB 248.1 billion worth of mechanical and electrical products, up 12% and accounting for 75.3% of total imports.
During the same period, consumer goods imports reached RMB 18.42 billion, an increase of 43.6%. Of this, imports of food, tobacco and alcoholic beverages totaled RMB 14.87 billion, up 43.9%. Spodumene imports surged 169.7% to RMB 16.23 billion, while imports of copper products rose 66.6% to RMB 9.15 billion.
In terms of trading partners, ASEAN remained Sichuan’s largest trading market. Trade between Sichuan and ASEAN reached RMB 160.63 billion in the first eight months, up 7.7% and accounting for 22.2% of the province’s total foreign trade. Trade with the United States totaled RMB 111.58 billion, down 1.2%, accounting for 15.4%, while trade with the European Union rose 4.2% to RMB 111.17 billion, accounting for 15.3%.
Over the same period, Sichuan’s trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reached RMB 314.36 billion, up 3.4% and accounting for 43.4% of the province’s total foreign trade. Trade with other RCEP member countries reached RMB 236.9 billion, up 5.5% and accounting for 32.7%.
Notably, Sichuan enterprises have accelerated their expansion into overseas markets this year, strengthening their international presence with increasingly competitive technologies and products. In the first eight months, the number of enterprises in the province with actual foreign trade activity exceeded 10,000 for the first time in the same period, reaching 10,114, up 18.5% year on year.
