Foreign trade gains impetus; Zhuhai ranked 5th in China

Zhuhai moved one place up from last year to rank fifth among China's top 100 foreign trade cities in 2016. With a score of 75.8 points, the city is behind only Shenzhen, Shanghai, Dongguan, and Suzhou, it was recently announced by the General Administration of Customs of the PRC (GACC).

The GACC list of 2016 China's Top 100 Foreign Trade Cities is based on 25 indexes in foreign trade competency, structure, benefits, development, and potentials, making the final rating professional and authoritative. Zhuhai scored high among the top 30 cities in the competitiveness of competency, benefits, potentials, and development.

Zhuhai foreign trade at China Import & Export Fair in Guangzhou [Photo courtesy zhtv.com]

The city scored 77.69 points in the geological advantage index and 70.27 points in the number of 10,000-employee foreign trade enterprises index to rank third and seventh respectively. It showed Zhuhai's superiority in both soft and hard strengths such as industrial foundation, water and land transport, foreign trade accumulation, and quality of the labor force, said a government official.

Meanwhile, the ranking indicates that formation of the Hengqin Free Trade Zone (FTZ), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and innovation center and core base for an advanced equipment manufacturing industrial belt in the Pearl River West Bank is breathing new life into foreign trade in Zhuhai.

According to Gongbei Customs, the total import and export value of Zhuhai reached 128.5 billion yuan ($19 billion) in the first half of this year, up 2.9 percent from the same period in 2016.