The LNG terminal in Zhoushan. [Photo by Li Shihao for chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhoushan in East China's Zhejiang province recorded 72.39 billion yuan ($11.04 billion) in foreign trade in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 34.7 percent year-on-year, local customs said.

The increase was 10.3 percentage points higher than the provincial average and was the second highest in Zhejiang.

The city's imports increased by 44.2 percent to 48.43 billion yuan, 29.3 percentage points higher than the provincial average.

From January to March, the export of refined oil products was the main driver of Zhoushan's exports. The city exported 18.78 billion yuan worth of refined oil products, a year-on-year increase of 51.5 percent and accounting for 78.4 percent of the city's total export value.

Zhoushan's five largest foreign trade partners in the January-March period were Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, ASEAN, Kuwait, and Latin America. Trade with these regions were valued at 17.69 billion yuan, 9.26 billion yuan, 7.15 billion yuan, 4.83 billion yuan, and 4.75 billion yuan respectively.

Trade with the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative expanded by 79.4 percent on a yearly basis to 50.91 billion yuan.

Private businesses were the main contributors to the city's foreign trade with their imports and exports totaling 53.29 billion yuan in the first three months of the year, up 55.9 percent year-on-year.

The Zhoushan area of the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone registered a 52 percent year-on-year increase to 65.58 billion yuan during the same period, accounting for 90.6 percent of the city's total.