In the First Half of the Year, Ningbo's Import and Export with CEEC Experienced A 13.7% Year-on-year Increase

 

 

As the permanent venue for the China-CEEC Expo, Ningbo continues to leverage its role as a critical platform to foster connectivity. The 4th China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair successfully held this year set record highs in signed project values and numbers of imported exhibits, further strengthening two-way investment and trade collaboration. According to Ningbo Customs statistics, in the first half of 2025, Ningbo's import and export volume with CEEC amounted to RMB 30.67 billion, marking a 13.7% year-on-year growth, significantly outpacing the overall foreign trade growth of the city. This highlights Ningbo's vibrant potential and pivotal role as a "bridgehead" for China-CEEC economic and trade cooperation.

 

 

 

 

The economic and trade collaboration between Ningbo City and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries demonstrates a flourishing trend across multiple areas. Countries such as Poland, Slovakia, Greece, Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, etc. are Ningbo's primary trading partners in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In the first half of the year, the trade value of Ningbo with these countries constituted nearly 90% of Ningbo's total import and export volume with Central and Eastern Europe countries.

Ningbo's exports to Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries exhibit remarkable performance. To facilitate enterprise exports, Ningbo Customs persistently collects and organizes EU TBT and SPS technical regulations. These are made publicly available through the China-CEEC Customs Information Center website, enabling enterprises to conform to EU standards in advance and align with industry requirements. In the first half of the year, Ningbo's exports to Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries amounted to 25.25 billion yuan, an increase of 20.1%. Advantageous categories, including M&E products and labor-intensive goods, maintained steady growth, contributing to the overall growth rate of trade with the CEE by 12.6 and 4.4 percentage points respectively. Among M&E products, home appliances, electrical equipment, and automotive components are highly favored by CEE consumers, boasting export growth rates exceeding 20%, thereby serving as significant catalysts for export acceleration.

Minth Group specializes in the production and manufacturing of components for new energy vehicles and maintains extensive connections with the CEE market. "Central and Eastern Europe serves as a pivotal springboard for our global strategy. It acts not only as a production hub but also as a testing ground for the collaborative innovation of green technologies between China and Europe," stated Yu Ke, the customs affairs director at Ningbo Minth Automotive Parts Technology Research Development Co. Ltd. "Our global production strategy encompasses 'domestic R&D and design coupled with international manufacturing'. This approach involves exporting core technologies and R&D outcomes from China to overseas facilities for local production, reducing supply chain costs and swiftly catering to car manufacturers' customization requirements." In the first half of the year, the company achieved exports to Central and Eastern European countries amounting to 250 million yuan, showcasing a year-on-year growth of 3.8 times. This achievement exemplifies the remarkable advancement of green trade between China and Europe.

Meanwhile, Ningbo exhibited a relatively robust demand for the import of goods from CEEC. Ningbo Customs has enlisted business experts to create the "Access Information Query for Agricultural and Food Products Exported from CEEC to China" platform. This platform facilitates enterprises with seamless access to information on the range of products eligible for import. During the first half of the year, Ningbo imported products worth 5.42 billion yuan from CEEC. Specialty goods from the region, such as dairy products from Poland, wine from Hungary, and agricultural and sideline products from Serbia, successfully entered the Ningbo market efficiently and conveniently through the port. Furthermore, Ningbo saw a significant increase in imports of high-value-added products like automobiles and electrical equipment from CEE. It also expanded trade channels for importing steel from the Czech Republic and other nations, achieving year-on-year growth rates of 23.2% and 549.3% in the import values of automobiles and steel from CEE, respectively, greatly enhancing market supply.

Ningbo Customs is fully committed to serving the national strategy. This year, it co-hosted the Seventh China–CEEC Dialogue on Customs, Inspection and Quarantine Cooperation alongside the China-Central and Eastern European Countries Expo, contributing to the establishment of an international customs cooperation platform and facilitating the signing of various cooperative agreements, including those concerning agricultural product market access. Simultaneously, efforts have been made to leverage the post-event influence of the Expo and Dialogue by continually optimizing the business environment at ports. Initiatives include the implementation of a dedicated "Central and Eastern European Goods Clearance Green Channel", ensuring "7×24-hour" appointment-based customs clearance and priority inspections, as well as promoting facilitation measures such as "advance declaration" and "two-step declaration" to significantly reduce overall customs clearance time. Building on this framework, and to assist enterprises in effectively and compliantly expanding their presence in the Central and Eastern European markets, Ningbo Customs has intensified the research and analysis of technical trade measures, advanced AEO international mutual recognition cooperation, and enhanced the ease of credit-based customs clearance for Central and Eastern European trading enterprises.

With the deep advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries mechanism, Ningbo will continue to harness its advantages in port operations, openness, and industries to establish itself as the "preferred gateway" for CEEC goods entering the Chinese market and a "key hub" for Chinese products destined for Central and Eastern Europe. Ningbo Customs will persist in advancing the development of smart customs, implementing the action of "Smart Customs Power", enhancing supervision, and optimizing services to contribute to the broader, deeper, and higher-quality development of economic and trade cooperation between Ningbo and CEEC.

 

 

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 Disclaimer：The above content is translated from Chinese version of China Blue News. The China Blue News version shall prevail.