Containers stockpiled at a port in Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: tzfb001]

Taizhou's import and export volume was valued at 140.71 billion yuan ($21.65 billion) in the first half of this year, up 26.9 percent year-on-year, according to Taizhou Customs.

Specifically, the city's exports surged 26.7 percent to 128.95 billion yuan, while its imports stood at 11.77 billion yuan, up 29.1 percent year-on-year.

Robust growth was seen in Taizhou's exports to the European Union, the United States, and ASEAN, Latin America and Africa from January to June. Its exports to the five places hit 28.87 billion yuan, 22.35 billion yuan, 13.43 billion yuan, 10.35 billion yuan and 7.66 billion yuan, over the six-month period, up 29.6 percent, 20.1 percent, 36.2 percent, 9 percent and 24 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, Japan and ASEAN were still the main source of imports. Over the period, the city's imports from Thailand registered a 1.3-fold increase.

Enterprises have been reaping dividends from Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Taizhou's exports to RCEP member states rose 33.4 percent year-on-year to 21.63 billion yuan from January to June, while its imports from these countries totaled 6.29 billion yuan, up 11.8 percent.

As of June, Taizhou had issued 1,456 RCEP certificates of origin for exports worth 520 million yuan to RCEP member states, leading to a reduction of 5.26 million yuan in tariffs for enterprises in the jurisdiction.

Notably, the city posted a significant increase in exports of mechanical and electric products. From January to June, it exported 70.21 billion yuan of mechanical and electrical products, up 26.5 percent year-on-year and accounting for 54.4 percent of the city's total.

Private enterprises were still the main engine fueling foreign trade growth. The number of private companies engaged in imports or exports in the first half of this year reached 6,886, an increase of 289 from a year earlier.