A liquified natural gas carrier owned by Swedish shipowner Stena Bulk berths at Zhoushan Port. [Photo/WeChat account: china-zjftz]

Zhoushan in East China's Zhejiang province registered the highest foreign trade growth in the province in 2021 with a year-on-year increase of 41.8 percent, local media reported on Jan 25.

The city's foreign trade volume, exports and imports last year also reached record highs.

Zhoushan's foreign trade volume was 235.49 billion yuan ($37.35 billion), exceeding 200 billion yuan for the first time, while exports rose 31.6 percent year-on-year to 77.39 billion yuan, and imports surged 47.5 percent year-on-year to 158.1 billion yuan.

According to the Zhoushan municipal bureau of commerce, the city's foreign trade saw an improved proportion of refined oil in exports and growth in ship exports last year.

Statistics show that Zhoushan exported 48.48 billion yuan worth of refined oil, a year-on-year increase of 110 percent and accounting for 62.6 percent of the city's total export value, in 2021. The city also exported 7.92 billion yuan worth of ships last year, up 22.8 percent year-on-year.

Zhoushan's trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative surged 82.5 percent year-on-year while its trade with members of the RCEP increased 21.6 percent.

The city's five largest export markets were ASEAN, Africa, Latin America, China's Hong Kong, and the EU while its five largest import markets were Saudi Arabia, UAE, ASEAN, Latin America, and Oman.

In addition, the foreign trade volume of private companies in Zhoushan has maintained more than 30 percent year-on-year increases for three consecutive years. In 2021, the import and export value by private companies accounted for 64.2 percent of the city's total, 6.2 percentage points higher than last year.