By Yang Yulai, SFC, 21st Century Business Herald

Guangdong's foreign trade has delivered another impressive achievement. 

In the first three quarters of this year, the province's total imports and exports reached 8.72 trillion yuan, up 24.5% year on year. More precisely, exports rose 14.2% to 5.11 trillion yuan, while imports surged 42.5% to 3.61 trillion yuan. So what are the key trends behind this growth? Let's take a closer look.

First, foreign trade continued to gain momentum. In the third quarter, total imports and exports grew 31.3%, with quarterly trade volume exceeding 3 trillion yuan for the first time. Guangdong has now recorded positive growth for 13 consecutive quarters.

Second, trade markets are becoming more diversified. This year marks APEC “China Year”. In the first three quarters, Guangdong's trade with other APEC economies increased by 26.4%, while trade with ASEAN and African markets grew by 20.2% and 23.4%, respectively. Trade growth extended to more than 160 countries and regions.

Meanwhile, Guangdong's export mix is moving up the value chain. In the first three quarters, exports of high-tech products reached 1.1 trillion yuan, up 33% year on year. From traditional competitive industries to high-tech products, Guangdong's export structure continues to improve.

The strength behind this growth comes not only from expanding global markets, but also from industrial innovation.

The 140th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, is now underway in Guangzhou. This year marks the fair's 70th anniversary. From its beginnings with 9,600 square meters of exhibition space and 1,200 buyers, the Canton Fair has grown to cover 1.55 million square meters and attract more than 300,000 buyers coming from all over the world. It has witnessed Chinese manufacturing expand onto the global stage and continues to serve as a bridge for international trade.

From sustained growth in Guangdong's foreign trade to the gathering of global buyers at the Canton Fair, an increasingly open market and an upgrading industrial base are reinforcing each other, injecting fresh momentum into the province's foreign trade.

Chief Producer: Zhao Haijian

Supervising Producer: Li Yanxia

Editor: He Jia

Reporter: Yang Yulai

Video Editor: Li Qun

Poster Design: Zheng Jiaqi

New Media Coordination: Ding Qingyun, Zeng Tingfang, Lai Xi

Overseas Operations Supervising Producer: Huang Yanshu

Overseas Content Coordinator: Huang Zihao

Overseas Operations Editors: Zhuang Huan, Wu Wanjie, Long Lihua, Zheng Quanyi 

Produced by: Southern Finance Media Corp.