China's Yangtze River Delta saw record-high import and export volumes in the first five months of this year, extending consecutive foreign trade growth to 15 months, and demonstrating the strong resilience and vitality of China's economy.
The Yangtze River Delta region, which covers Shanghai Municipality and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, all in east China, is one of China's most economically dynamic, open and innovative areas.
According to data from Chinese customs authorities, the region's total value of imports and exports in the five-month period reached 7.82 trillion yuan (about 1.16 trillion U.S. dollars), up 16.2 percent year on year and accounting for 37.8 percent of the nation's foreign trade total.
Exports amounted to 4.92 trillion yuan, accounting for 41.3 percent of the country's total. Exports of high-end manufacturing products such as ships, integrated circuits, and robots all achieved double-digit growth.
Imports totaled 2.9 trillion yuan during this period. Growing demand for raw materials and high-end components for industrial production supported stable operations in advanced manufacturing.
Foreign trade entities continued to demonstrate strong vitality. In the first five months, private enterprises recorded imports and exports totaling 4.22 trillion yuan, accounting for 54 percent of the Yangtze River Delta's total foreign trade value.
The region's imports and exports with Belt and Road countries increased by 17.5 percent year on year, while the foreign trade total with emerging markets, such as ASEAN, Latin America, and Africa, grew by 25.5 percent, 9.3 percent, and 14 percent, respectively, demonstrating its growing resilience in foreign trade.
Yangtze River Delta reports record foreign trade in Jan-May
The 32nd Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) concluded on Sunday after a five-day run, sealing 2,835 copyright trade agreements and letters of intent between Chinese and international publishers.
The fair brought together over 1,700 exhibitors from 82 countries and regions, with social sciences, children's books, and science and technology titles ranking as the top three categories in trading volume.
At the exhibition, the first batch of results from the China-Italy Classic Works Mutual Translation and Publishing Project was officially unveiled.
Four works have completed mutual translation and publication: Chinese titles "I and the Temple of Earth" and "An Overview of Ancient Chinese Architecture", alongside Italian classics "I Canti" and "From the New Science".
"I believe this will bring great cultural value to readers in both Italy and China. This year marks the first achievement, and we are now in the process of deciding the four books to be translated next year," said Federico Roberto Antonelli, cultural counselor of Italian Embassy in China.
Domestic publishing houses continued to push high-quality works for overseas promotion.
China's "Road Choices in the Past 100 Years", a record of China's century-long development journey, saw its Arabic, Russian, and Portuguese editions launched at the fair.
"This book has already been translated into five languages. We've found that many international colleagues are paying close attention to this type of books. We also believe that books on the origins of Chinese civilization and other traditional cultural classics (and similar topics) are of high demand," said Song Zhijun, executive director and Party secretary of Life Reading New Knowledge Sanlian Bookstore.
"Charming Guangdong," a book celebrating Lingnan culture, has signed a copyright deal with a Polish publishing institution to expand its international audience.
This year's fair featured a rich variety of copyright export categories, covering literature, art, history, and other fields, with notable achievements in children's publications going global.
Haiyan Publishing House signed strategic cooperation agreements with publishing institutions from the United States and Sri Lanka, centered on its "Chinese Classic Folk Tales Picture Book Series" as part of the Chinese Civilization Heritage Collection.
The 32nd Beijing International Book Fair opened on June 17 at the China National Convention Center in Beijing under the theme "Books as a Bridge for Dialogue, Exchange and Win-Win Cooperation".
32nd Beijing Int’l Book Fair concludes with 2,835 copyright agreements
