Foreign trade in East China's Shandong province reached 2.93 trillion yuan ($460.7 billion) in 2021, up 32.4 percent from 2020 and 43.1 percent higher than the 2019 figure, according to local customs authorities.

A container ship is being unloaded at an international container terminal at Yantai Port in Shandong province in November. 

The province's share of China's total foreign trade rose from 6.9 percent in 2020 to 7.5 percent in 2021.

The province's exports stood at 1.76 trillion yuan last year, up 34.8 percent year-on-year, while imports totaled 1.17 trillion yuan, an increase of 29 percent, said Zhang Yibing, deputy head of Jinan customs. Both growth rates were above the national average.

Last year, the import and export value of the province's 16 cities all saw double-digit growth. Linyi, Dongying, Jinan, Weifang and Tai'an led the way, reporting growth rates of 51.4 percent, 44.6 percent, 40.1 percent, 39.4 percent and 37.2 percent, respectively.

In 2021, Shandong's general trade imports and exports reached 1.95 trillion yuan, up 28.1 percent and accounting for 66.5 percent of the province's total foreign trade value. Processing trade imports and exports hit 452.71 billion yuan, up 18 percent. The trade volume of bonded logistics was valued at 406.76 billion yuan, up 56.5 percent.

Last year, the vitality of foreign trade operators in Shandong was significantly increased. The number of enterprises with import and export achievements reached 61,000, 4,946 more than the previous year.

Private enterprises continued to dominate the province's foreign trade. The import and export of private enterprises reached 2.09 trillion yuan, up 35.6 percent and accounting for 71.2 percent of the provincial total.

Meanwhile, the import and export of foreign-invested enterprises reached 587.51 billion yuan, up 20.3 percent, while the figure for State-owned enterprises totaled 252.42 billion yuan, up 39.3 percent.

The province reported a 40.8 percent surge in trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, hitting 937.6 billion yuan. Its trade with 14 other member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership reached 1.03 trillion yuan last year, up 32.9 percent from 2020.