Lanzhou Customs' latest statistical data show that in the first 10 months of this year, the total value of foreign trade imports and exports in Gansu Province reached 544.8 billion yuan, an increase of 16.1% compared to the same period last year, achieving a steady growth trend. Among which, exports amounted to 138.7 billion yuan, sharply increasing by 39.4% year-on-year; imports were 406.1 billion yuan, increasing by 9.8% year-on-year. The structure of imports and exports continues to optimize, and the resilience and vitality of foreign trade development have significantly improved. Recently, a relevant official from the Gansu Provincial Department of Commerce answered reporters' questions on the specific reasons for the rapid growth of foreign trade.

Question: What are the key drivers behind the rapid growth?

Answer: In the first 10 months, the vitality of foreign trade entities in Gansu Province has been continuously released, with state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, and foreign-invested enterprises developing synergistically, forming a diversified development pattern. Among them, state-owned enterprises have played a prominent role as the "ballast stone" of foreign trade, with imports and exports totaling 31.38 billion yuan, accounting for 57.6% of the province's total foreign trade value, providing solid support for the stable growth of foreign trade.

Private enterprises have been particularly active, becoming an important engine driving foreign trade growth. Data shows that in the first 10 months, the total import and export value of private enterprises in Gansu reached 22.48 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 50.1%, accounting for 41.3% of the province's total foreign trade value, with the proportion increasing by 8.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Leveraging their flexible operational mechanisms, private enterprises have actively explored international markets, with significant growth in exports of characteristic agricultural products, machinery equipment, electronic products, and other fields.

Foreign-invested enterprises have also maintained a rapid growth momentum, with import and export value totaling 620 million yuan in the first 10 months, a year-on-year increase of 58.7%, with the growth rate leading among various market entities. As the business environment in Gansu Province continues to improve, the investment confidence of foreign enterprises in Gansu has been steadily increasing, leading to rapid development in import and export businesses, injecting new momentum into foreign trade growth.

Question: Who are the major trading partners?

Answer: In terms of market expansion, Gansu Province has adhered to both deepening traditional markets and expanding new markets, achieving growth in imports and exports with major trading partners, particularly with countries jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative and other RCEP member countries, where trade exchanges have become increasingly close.

In the first 10 months, Gansu's imports and exports with countries jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative reached 39.89 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.6%, accounting for 73.2% of the province's total foreign trade value, making it the core market for the province's foreign trade imports and exports. In recent years, leveraging its geographical advantage as the golden section of the Silk Road Economic Belt, Gansu Province has continuously improved cross-border logistics channels, deepened trade cooperation with Central Asia, West Asia, Europe, and other regions, and steadily advanced trade in bulk commodities such as energy, minerals, and agricultural products, while continuously expanding the scale of specialty product exports.

At the same time, the benefits of the RCEP implementation have been continuously released, and Gansu's imports and exports with other RCEP member countries have performed impressively. In the first 10 months, the province's imports and exports with other RCEP member countries reached 15.75 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 43.2%, accounting for 28.9% of the province's total foreign trade value. Supported by policies such as RCEP tariff reductions and trade facilitation, Gansu's agricultural products, chemical products, light industrial products, and others have seen their competitiveness in markets like ASEAN, Japan, and South Korea continuously improve due to cost and quality advantages, with import and export growth rates far exceeding the provincial average.

Question: What changes have occurred in the trade structure?

Answer: In the first 10 months, Gansu Province's foreign trade has not only achieved steady growth in scale but also shown many positive changes in structure, with high-quality development characteristics becoming increasingly evident. In terms of exports, the growth rate of high value-added products has accelerated, and the proportion of technology-intensive products such as machinery equipment and electronic products in exports has continued to rise, driving the export growth rate to be significantly higher than the import growth rate. In terms of imports, energy and resource products, advanced technology, and equipment imports have grown steadily, providing strong support for the province's industrial upgrading and economic development.

Currently, guided by the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, Gansu's commerce sector is continuously strengthening foreign trade policy support, cultivating new forms and models of foreign trade, and promoting the deep integration of foreign trade and industry. As various foreign trade stabilization policies and measures take effect, it is expected that Gansu Province's foreign trade will maintain a stable growth trend throughout the year, providing strong support for the high-quality economic and social development of the province.