(Yicai) Jan. 17 -- The value of China’s southern Guangdong province’s imports and exports inched up 0.3 percent to a new record high last year, according to the latest official data.

Guangdong’s foreign trade totaled CNY8.3 trillion (USD1.16 trillion) in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, data released yesterday by local authorities showed. Exports rose 2.5 percent to CNY5.4 trillion, while imports fell 3.6 percent to CNY2.9 trillion.

Foreign trade firms in Guangdong, China’s largest provincial-level economy, topped 130,000 for the first time last year. Some 109,000 or 80 percent of them were private enterprises, up over 11 percent from the year before. They contributed CNY5.04 trillion to the province’s total foreign trade, an increase of 6 percent, accounting for 61 percent of the total, up 3.3 percentage points in the period.

Guangdong’s foreign trade with the United States, countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the European Union rose 8.7 percent, 4.7 percent, 4.3 percent, and 3 percent, respectively, in 2023 from the previous year.

Guangdong imported more consumer goods and energy products while keeping advantages in terms of exports of labor-intensive products last year. Private companies in the province exported CNY604.1 billion (USD84.8 billion) worth of labor-intensive products last year, accounting for over 75 percent of the total. Meanwhile, they imported CNY202.3 billion worth of consumer goods and CNY29 billion (USD4.1 billion) worth of energy products, up 70 percent and 110 percent, respectively, from the year before.

Given the complex external environment, Guangdong will further increase its imports and exports clearance efficiency, reduce companies’ burden, support their innovative development, and promote breakthroughs in improving the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and major platforms to stabilize external trade, said Li Yu, deputy head of Guangzhou Customs District.

Moreover, the study of private-owned firms will be enhanced to better understand their requests to draw policies and measures in a targeted manner and boost their development confidence, Li added.

Editors: Zhang Yuhsuo, Futura Costaglione