Chinese port hub Ningbo demonstrates resilience in navigating shifting trends

Yahoo

20-05-2025

NINGBO, China, May 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- From May 22 to 25, the fourth China-Central and Eastern European Countries Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair (China-CEEC Expo) will be held in Ningbo, a port city in east China's Zhejiang Province, according to the executive committee of the expo.
This grand event will serve not only as a platform for product exhibitions and business negotiations but also present a case study of Ningbo as a reflection of China's economic resilience and commitment to openness.
At the Ningbo International Conference Center, workers are busy preparing exhibition booths. In just a few days, over 400 exhibitors will present more than 8,000 products from CEEC, including Czech beer, Slovenian honey, and Hungarian down products, across a 20,000-square-meter exhibition area. The expo is expected to attract 15,000 professionals, including over 3,000 foreign buyers, marking record highs in exhibition area, number of exhibitors, and product variety.
Since the inaugural China-CEEC Expo in 2019, this recurring event in Ningbo has become an important platform for deepening economic and trade cooperation between China and CEEC. It also reflects Ningbo's proactive response to changing circumstances and its commitment to innovation.
With its advantageous geographic location and port resources, Ningbo has historically been a significant trade hub. In 2024, the city's total import and export value reached 1.42 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.1%. For the first time since the 21st century, its annual foreign trade scale ranked among the top five nationally. The Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, known for its exceptional deep-water capabilities, has maintained the world's highest throughput for 16 consecutive years.
Amid a complex and fluctuating global trade environment, Ningbo has remained resilient as a trade hub. According to data from Ningbo customs, the city's total import and export value from January to April 2025 reached 472.45 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.2%, setting a record for the same period. High-tech product imports grew by 18.1%, and electronic product imports surged by 38.4%.
This impressive record in foreign trade is a testament to Ningbo's robust economic resilience.
The substantial and continuously innovative private sector serves as a solid foundation for its foreign trade-oriented economy. Ningbo is not only the third city in China, following Shenzhen and Shanghai, to have a private enterprise foreign trade scale exceeding one trillion yuan, but it also boasts the highest number of national-level single champions in manufacturing.
"The flexibility and innovation of the private economy are key advantages for Ningbo in facing tariff challenges," said Zhang Mengting, a researcher at the institute on the CEEC economic and trade cooperation of Ningbo University.
In response to external pressures, private foreign trade enterprises in Ningbo have enhanced their market competitiveness through technical competitiveness, shifting from limited markets to a global layout, and transitioning from product exports to overseas production. Meanwhile, the city's foreign trade has adapted from export-only activities to a dual circulation model that incorporates both domestic and international markets.
From January to April, Ningbo's private enterprises reported an import and export value of 365.44 billion yuan, a 12.3% increase that contributed 9.1 percentage points to the city's overall growth and accounted for 77.4% of Ningbo's foreign trade, up 2.8 percentage points from the same period last year. During the first four months, trade growth with Africa and ASEAN reached 28.1% and 20.7%, respectively.
Among Ningbo's trade players, Xinhai Technology Group has invested over 60 million yuan in research and development, leveraging EU certification to access a global market of 2 million lighters daily. Corelead Group, on the other hand, has established a factory in Serbia to promptly meet urgent orders from European clients.
Moreover, Ningbo actively capitalizes on its role as a pilot area within the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, expanding its space for foreign economic and trade cooperation through institutional innovation.
As the first China-CEEC economic and trade cooperation demonstration zone in the country, Ningbo has implemented a pilot green channel for CEEC imports, promoting mutual recognition of customs inspection standards and 16 other institutional innovations.
The theme of this expo, which seeks innovation, practical outcome and future-oriented cooperation, encapsulates Ningbo's development. The city, recognized as a high-energy open stronghold, demonstrates resilience against external risks through the vibrancy of its private economy, the strong edge of technological innovation, and the strategic stability offered by diverse markets, thereby contributing Chinese solutions to global trade governance.
Source: The Executive Committee of China-CEEC Expo
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