Changshu’s foreign trade got off to a steady start in 2025. According to the latest statistics from Changshu Customs, the city’s total value of imports and exports expanded 4.2% year on year in the first quarter to reach 37.22 billion yuan. In March alone, the total import-export value was 13.59 billion yuan, of which exports reached 10.64 billion yuan, increasing by 21.4%. Exports of textile fabrics, lithium batteries, and auto parts witnessed fast growth.
From January to March, the foreign trade volume of private enterprises in Changshu increased by 11% to 19.32 billion yuan, accounting for 51.9% of the city’s total, 3.2 percentage points higher than that in the same period last year. During the same period, the import and export volume of foreign-funded enterprises stood at 17.27 billion yuan, a decrease of 4.1%, accounting for 46.4% of the city’s total. And the import-export volume of state-owned enterprises surged by 102.1% to 640 million yuan, accounting for 1.7% of the city’s total.
Changshu’s foreign trade with the ASEAN and Japan has maintained stable growth. In the first quarter, the city’s imports and exports with the ASEAN reached 6.89 billion yuan, up by 6.1%, accounting for 18.5% of the city’s total. Its trade volume with Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore increased by 1.6%, 12.1% and 20.2%, respectively. During the same period, imports and exports with Japan increased by 2.9%. The trade with the other 14 RCEP member countries reached 14.86 billion yuan, increasing by 0.3%, accounting for 39.9% of the city’s total. The import-export volume with the countries jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative rose by 4.5% to 17.78 billion yuan, accounting for 47.8% of the city’s total.
In the first 3 months this year, the export value of mechanical and electrical products from Changshu reached 13.81 billion yuan, increasing by 17%, accounting for 50% of the city’s total. Among them, the export of automobiles and auto parts was 1.14 billion yuan, increasing by 17.1%. The export of lamps, lighting fixtures and their parts reached 760 million yuan, a sharp rise of 252.1%. The export of printed circuit boards and lithium batteries grew by 13.9% and 60% to 660 million and 810 million yuan, respectively. During the same period, the export of basic organic chemicals reached 1.41 billion yuan, increasing by 15.1%.
In the January-March period, Changshu imported 4.6 billion yuan worth of mechanical and electrical products, up by 6%, accounting for 47.9% of the city’s total import value. And imports of audio and video equipment, machine tools, and industrial robots experienced rapid growth.
