Qingdao has been ranked 11th in the list of China's top 100 foreign trade cities in 2020, which was recently released by China Customs.

A US cargo ship docks at the Qingdao Port, Shandong province. [Photo by Yu Shaoyue/For China Daily]

In the evaluation system, competitive power consists of five parts: foreign trade, structure, benefit, development and potential. The top 10 cities in the list are Shenzhen, Shanghai, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Xiamen, Ningbo, Tianjin and Beijing.

In 2020, Qingdao's imports and exports totaled 640.7 billion yuan ($98.99 billion), an increase of 8.2 percent from the previous year. Its exports stood at 387.68 billion yuan, an increase of 13.7 percent, while imports reached 253.02 billion yuan, up 0.7 percent.

Qingdao's import and export structure has continued to be optimized, and its network of trading partners has become more diversified.

Last year, ASEAN, the EU and the United States were Qingdao's top three trading partners. Imports and exports to these regions grew 27.2 percent, 9.7 percent and 14.9 percent year-on-year respectively.

The city's trade with countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 181.77 billion yuan, up 16.3 percent year-on-year, 8.1 percentage points higher than the overall growth of the city's foreign trade.

Exports of products such as masks, protective clothing and sports goods increased significantly.

Bonded logistics has been developing rapidly in Qingdao. In 2020, the import and export volume of Qingdao through the customs cross-border e-commerce management platform hit 5.42 billion yuan, a growth of 688 percent.