(Yicai) Jan. 23 -- The value of China's central Hubei province's imports and exports jumped to a new record high last year, thanks to the establishment of new foreign trade channels, according to the latest official data.

Hubei's foreign trade rose 5.8 percent to CNY645 billion (USD89.9 billion) last year from the year before, according to data released yesterday by Wuhan Customs. Imports surged 7.9 percent to CNY211.6 billion, and exports jumped 4.7 percent to CNY433.3 billion.

The Ezhou Huahu Airport in Ezhou opened 10 international air cargo routes to 13 destinations, including cities in Belgium and Germany, as well as New York. Over 42,000 tons of cargo were transported along these routes last year since they began operation in April.

New sea and rail transportation routes were also introduced last year. The China-Europe Railway Express (Wuhan) operated six international and seven domestic rail and water transport routes through China's Yangtze River. Wuhan became the main hub connecting 40 countries and 115 cities in Eurasia.

Lithium batteries, solar cells, and passenger electric vehicles were the main goods imported to and exported from Hubei last year. Their total foreign trade skyrocketed 91 percent to CNY16.1 billion (USD2.2 billion) last year from the previous one, said Liao Huadong, deputy head of Wuhan Customs.

Countries along the Belt and Road Initiative were very important trading partners for Hubei in 2023. Foreign trade between Hubei and BRI members rose 12 percent to CNY309 billion last year from the year before, with the figure up 6.5 percentage points from the overall foreign trade growth in the period, Liao noted.

Hunan and Jiangxi, the two other Chinese central provinces, also reported situations similar to Hubei's.

Hunan's foreign trade totaled CNY617.5 billion last year, with imports of CNY216.6 billion and exports of CNY401 billion. Jiangxi's foreign trade reached CNY569.8 billion, with imports of CNY177 billion and exports of CNY392.9 billion.

Hunan's foreign trade with BRI countries was CNY323.3 billion last year, accounting for 52.4 percent of the total, up 2.1 percentage points from the year before. Jiangxi's foreign trade with BRI members totaled CNY272.8 billion in 2023, accounting for 47.9 percent of the total, up 0.8 percentage points from the previous year.

Lithium batteries, solar cells, and passenger EVs were also the main products imported to and exported from Hunan and Jiangxi last year.

Hunan exported CNY6.7 billion (USD933.5 million) of such products last year, up 29 percent from 2022. Jiangxi's exports of solar cells, passenger EVs, and lithium batteries totaled CNY34.4 billion, CNY6.7 billion, and CNY4.4 billion, respectively, last year, up 43 percent, 1,740 percent, and 150 percent from the year before.

Editor: Futura Costaglione