The eastern coastal hub of Qingdao, Shandong province saw its foreign trade total about 397.52 billion yuan ($61.34 billion) in the first half of the year, customs data showed.

The figure marks a robust increase of 39.6 percent over the same period last year and a 41.3 percent over the same period in 2019, according to Qingdao Customs.

Its exports surged 31.3 percent year-on-year to 219.36 billion yuan, while imports reached 178.16 billion yuan, up 51.4 percent year-on-year.

In June, Qingdao's imports and exports reached 81.42 billion yuan, up 67.5 percent year-on-year. Exports reached 49.77 billion yuan, up 71.9 percent year-on-year, while imports reached 31.65 billion yuan, up 61.1 percent year-on-year.

General trade imports and exports grew rapidly. In the first half of the year, they were valued at 272.12 billion yuan, an increase of 39.9 percent and accounting for 68.5 percent of the city's total.

Processing trade imports and exports reached 59.83 billion yuan, up 16.3 percent, while foreign trade of bonded logistics reached 52.63 billion yuan, up 53 percent.

The share of private enterprises in imports and exports increased. In the first half of the year, imports and exports of private enterprises in Qingdao were valued at 264.77 billion yuan, up 45.8 percent and accounting for 66.6 percent of the city's total.

Imports and exports of foreign-invested enterprises reached 84.15 billion yuan, up 22.8 percent, while those of State-owned enterprises reached 47.55 billion yuan, up 40.6 percent.

Over the same period, imports and exports between Qingdao and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the EU, and the United States, the city's top three trade markets, reached 66.75 billion yuan, 47.74 billion yuan, and 45.55 billion yuan, increasing by 71.5 percent, 26 percent and 44.2 percent, respectively, and accounting for 16.8 percent, 12 percent, and 11.5 percent of the city's total foreign trade.

The city's trade with South Korea, Japan, and Brazil increased by 31.9 percent, 17.8 percent, and 22.3 percent, respectively.

The city's trade with countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 125.56 billion yuan, an increase of 56.6 percent and accounting for 31.6 percent of the city's total.