In 2016, Hubei totally gained 260.01 billion yuan in imports and exports, dropping by 8.3 percent year on year. The exports and imports occupied 172.01 billion yuan and 88 billion yuan, going down by 5.3 percent and 13.6 percent, respectively. Inspite of the decline in foreign trade, the structure of which has been continuously optimizing, the proportion of general trade increased to 71.9 percent and the enterprises with import and export performance increased by 207 over the previous year, according to Wuhan Customs on January 17, 2017.
Statistics showed, in 2016, Hubei saw a rapid growth in exports of mechanical and electrical, high-tech and some traditional products. The exports of mobile phones topped others with 20.65 billion yuan, up 37 percent, followed by the clothes with 15.7 billion, up 9.2 percent, tablet computers with 5.38 billion yuan, up 18.9 percent, integrated circuits with 3.5 billion yuan, up 9.2 percent, pharmaceutical products with 3.48 billion yuan, up 15.7 percent, and liquid crystal display panels with 920 million yuan, up 19.8 percent.
In the same period, the exports of some overcapacity industries decreased significantly, such as the chemical fertilizer, steel and ship, falling by at least 10 percent.
Despite of the plunge in imports and exports in 2016, the structure of foreign trade has been continuously optimizing: the proportion of general trade increased to 71.9 percent; the enterprises with import and export performance increased by 207 over the previous year; exports to the EU, the United States, Asean and other major markets remained basically stable; exports to the emerging markets like Brazil and Russia saw a sharp growth; the structure of export commodities was optimized and the growth for high-tech products was steady.
In 2017, with the implementation of a series of measures to promote foreign trade in China and the strategies of Yangtze River Economic Belt and the “Belt and Road” Initiatives in Hubei, as well as the approval of Hubei free trade zone, the foreign trade of Hubei is expected to achieve stabilization and recovery, Wuhan Customs said.