Foreign trade in Jinan, Shandong province has seen promising development in the first quarter, despite of the impact of the ongoing novel coronavirus.

Jinan Customs announced that the city's exports and imports totaled 28.08 billion yuan ($3.96 billion), up 20.7 percent over the same period last year, accounting for 6.3 percent of the total value in Shandong province.

The growth rate is 24.3 percentage points higher than the provincial growth rate and ranks first in the province.

To decrease the impact of the epidemic, the city expanded the range of its foreign trade goods and increased imports of crude oil and coal.

The import value of medical equipment, mechanical products and iron ore products also increased greatly. Imports during the period rose by 54.5 percent to 13.12 billion yuan.

At the same time, the city actively expanded export channels for epidemic supplies in urgent need to meet overseas demand.

From January to March, exports of steel, vegetables and medical supplies increased by 2.6 percent, 73.8 percent and 14.8 percent, respectively.

The local government also made efforts to help local companies expand their international presence by providing online training.

High-end technologies also performed strongly in promoting overseas cooperation.

Jier Machine-Tool Group offered online inspection for overseas customers with the help of artificial intelligence and augmented reality technologies.

Imports and exports by private enterprises hit 18.07 billion yuan, up 41.3 percent, accounting for 64.4 percent of the city's total value, while foreign trade by Stated-owned enterprises totaled 5.3 billion yuan, up 4.7 percent.

The city's trade with countries along the Belt and Road reached 10.17 billion yuan, an increase of 13.6 percent year-on-year. BRI countries are becoming the new drivers behind the city's foreign trade.