Mutual Efforts and Collaboration! Zhejiang's Trade with CEE Up 11.6% Year-on-Year in the First Four Months

Xinhua News Agency Zhejiang Channel, May 20 (Reporter Wei Donghua)—From May 22 to 25, the 4th China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair will be held in Ningbo, Zhejiang. As the host region, Zhejiang has seen a steady expansion in trade volume with Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) in recent years, coupled with a continuous increase in participating market players, demonstrating robust resilience and vitality.

According to Hangzhou Customs statistics, in the first four months of this year, over 20,000 foreign trade enterprises in Zhejiang engaged in import and export activities with CEEC. The total import and export value reached RMB 62.6 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 11.6%. Among this, exports amounted to RMB 56.85 billion, up 14.8% year-on-year. In the first four months, Zhejiang ranked second nationwide in both total import and export value and the share of total export value for trade with CEE.

On the 18th, nearly 60 tons of cross-border e-commerce goods were transported to Budapest, the capital of Hungary, aboard a dedicated "Hangzhou-Budapest" all-cargo flight after completing customs clearance procedures. Budapest, the capital of Hungary, serves as a pivotal cargo transit hub in Eastern Europe. In April 2023, an air cargo corridor was officially established between Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport and Budapest International Airport. Over the past two years, the frequency of this dedicated cargo route has steadily increased from 4 weekly flights to 7, with weekly freight capacity rising to 500 tons. As of now, this all-cargo air route has operated 483 flights in total, transporting over 39,000 tons of import and export goods.

Meanwhile, the continuous operation of the China-Europe Railway Express, bridging vast distances, has shaped an era of win-win economic and trade cooperation between Zhejiang and CEE. Recently, the X8054 China-Europe Railway Express train, carrying 106 TEU with imported goods such as milk powder, instant coffee and clay, smoothly entered the Yiwu railway port in Zhejiang. The train departed from Duisburg on May 3, entered China via the Alashankou Port, and reached Yiwu after a 15-day journey.

Data from Hangzhou Customs shows that in the first four months of this year, Zhejiang's China-Europe Railway Express (Yiwu–Xinjiang–Europe route) transported a total of 85,700TEUs, registering a year-on-year increase of 6.5%. Among them, the return trips accounted for 38,100TEUs, reflecting a robust year-on-year increase of 25.6%. High-quality goods from CEE—such as timber from Belarus, hardware and auto parts from Poland, and rose products from Bulgaria—are increasingly crossing mountains and rivers via the return China-Europe Railway Express trains to enter the Chinese market.

This year marks the 13th anniversary of the establishment of the CEEC Cooperation Mechanism. As economic and trade relations between China and CEEC continue to develop in a healthy and sustainable manner, and the foundation for pragmatic cooperation strengthens, Zhejiang's foreign trade enterprises are seizing more opportunities for growth.

Zhejiang Sanhua Commercial Refrigeration Co., Ltd. is a leading global enterprise specializing in intelligent control components for commercial and industrial refrigeration. The company primarily focuses on the research, development, production, and export of four-way reversing valves, thermostatic expansion valves, electronic expansion valves, and solenoid valves. "Benefiting from the deepening cooperation between China and CEE, we have built a strong customer base in the region. The AEO certification provides our export goods with expedited customs clearance in CEEC," said Wang Chunlan, a salesperson from the Foreign Trade Department. "From January to April, our company exported refrigeration components worth over RMB 70 million to CEEC, a year-on-year increase of nearly 40%."

Hangzhou Customs data reveals that from January to April this year, Zhejiang exported M&E products worth of RMB 30.81 billion to CEE, marking a 15.8% growth and representing 54.2% of the province’s total exports to the region.

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