Ningbo's Trade with CEECs Tops 45 Billion Yuan in First Three Quarters

 

 

Coinciding with the second anniversary of the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Ningbo has reported impressive trade figures with Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs), reaching a new high. According to Ningbo Customs, in the first three quarters of this year, Ningbo's bilateral trade with CEECs reached 45.45 billion yuan, a 7% year-on-year increase, outpacing the city's overall trade growth by 3.3 percentage points. Of this sum, exports amounted to 37.84 billion yuan, while imports stood at 7.61 billion yuan.

 

 

Ningbo Customs officers assist businesses in self-printing certificates of origin for goods destined for CEECs. (Photo by Fu Yichun)

 

 

Ningbo's economic and trade cooperation with CEECs is advancing on multiple fronts. In the first three quarters, Ningbo saw increased trade with 10 CEECs. Among these, Poland, Slovakia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, and Serbia are Ningbo's primary trading partners in the region, with their combined trade volume representing 93.2% of Ningbo's total trade with CEECs. Serbia's performance was particularly strong, with its bilateral trade reaching 1.49 billion yuan, an increase of 17.7%, marking four consecutive months of double-digit growth.

This impressive trade performance would not have been possible without Ningbo enterprises' proactive expansion into emerging markets and the effective leveraging of favorable customs policies. Recently, a consignment of nozzle assembly products, valued at approximately 35,000 yuan and manufactured by HMC, successfully secured a China-Serbia FTA Certificate of Origin. This certificate enables these goods to benefit from zero-tariff treatment in Serbia.

As a high-tech enterprise specializing in automotive electronics and smart devices, HMC has significantly expanded its commitment to Central and Eastern European (CEE) markets in recent years. "In the first three quarters, our product exports to Serbia reached approximately 3.55 million yuan, marking a remarkable 1,379% year-on-year increase," stated Wang Yan, HMC's export documentation specialist. She attributed this exponential growth in CEE market orders to streamlined customs clearance procedures, supportive policy guidance, efficient project execution, and the competitive pricing enabled by tariff reductions.

Since the beginning of this year, "Made in Ningbo" has accelerated its expansion into CEECs. Ningbo's exports to CEECs have shown rapid growth every month, except for February. Mechanical and electrical products form the core pillar of these exports, totaling25.02 billion yuan, representing a14.7% rise. This category accounts for 66.1% of Ningbo's total export value to CEECs and has contributed 7.6 percentage points to the overall trade growth with the region. Notably, green and low-carbon "new three" products—namely, electric vehicles, solar cells and lithium-ion batteries for automobiles—have seen strong demand in CEECs, with exports totaling 880 million yuan, up 26.5%. New energy products within this group, such as electric vehicles and photovoltaic products, have been particularly strong drivers. Electric vehicle exports surged by 12.8 times, while photovoltaic products grew by 5.4%.

Mirroring this open approach, Ningbo Hongyi Electronics Technology Co., Ltd., a leading power connector manufacturer in Asia, is also proactively developing its presence in CEE markets. Bolstered by its well-established foundation in the European market, it consistently delivers high-quality products that meet European standards.

"In the first three quarters of this year, our company's exports to CEE markets surged past 90 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 54.57%," said Yu Enbo, the company's Customs Affairs Manager, who added that the company's product portfolio, covering power connectors and electric vehicle charging equipment among others, finds extensive application in residential, commercial, and new energy sectors. To closely align with CEE market demands, the company has intensified its R&D into green and low-carbon products. Leveraging its technological prowess and superior quality, these products have garnered significant acclaim across CEECs.

Ningbo continues to demonstrate robust market demand for products from CEECs. With the support of the China-CEEC Customs Information Center, customs clearance for agricultural and food products has been further streamlined. CEE specialty products, particularly alcoholic beverages, dairy products, and agricultural by-products, are highly popular among Ningbo consumers. In the first three quarters of this year, Ningbo's agricultural imports from CEECs exceeded 100 million yuan. During the same period, imports of certain resource raw materials provided significant impetus. Steel imports, for example, reached 100 million yuan, an increase of 119.5%, which substantially enriched market supply, strengthened supply chain resilience, and supported industrial chain stability and upgrading.

With the high-quality joint development of the "Belt and Road" Initiative and the deepening China-CEEC cooperation mechanism, more Ningbo enterprises are set to leverage their advantages in ports, market openness, and industry. Supported by policy assistance and efficient services from customs and other departments, they aim to boost product exports to CEE markets. A Ningbo Customs official stated that the department will continue to advance smart customs construction and implement the "Smart Customs for Strong Nation" initiative. This effort will contribute customs' capabilities to facilitate broader, deeper, and higher-quality economic and trade cooperation between Ningbo and CEECs. (Tide News)

 

 

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