According to the statistics recently released by Suzhou Customs, Suzhou’s foreign trade in the first 4 months of 2025 totaled 852.1 billion yuan, an increase of 6.8% over the same period last year, accounting for 6% and 46.1% of the country’s and the province’s total, respectively. Its exports increased by 10.3% to 540.32 billion yuan and imports grew by 1.3% to 311.79 billion yuan. In April alone, the city’s imports and exports reached 219.65 billion yuan, marking a 5.6 percent increase, with exports growing by 7% to 137.17 billion yuan and imports up by 3.4% to 82.48 billion yuan.
From January to April, the city’s general trade and processing trade continued to grow. The import and export volume for general trade grew by 7.2% to 360.08 billion yuan, of which exports achieved an increase of 16.2% to stand at 246.87 billion yuan, generating 7 percentage points of growth for the city’s foreign trade. Meanwhile, the imports and exports of processing trade grew by 5.4% to 359.69 billion yuan, with exports growing by 5.2% to 223.9 billion yuan and imports up by 5.8% to 135.79 billion yuan. And the import and export volume of bonded logistics reached 123.35 billion yuan, increasing by 10.9%.
In the first 4 months this year, the number of Suzhou enterprises involved in foreign trade grew by 7.5% to about 30,000. The foreign trade volume of foreign-funded enterprises grew by 6.1% to 488.41 billion yuan, accounting for 57.3% of the city’s total, among which exports increased by 7.1% and imports by 4.9%. Meanwhile, the import-export value of domestic-funded enterprises in the city reached 363.59 billion yuan, up by 7.8%, among which exports rose by 13.7%.
Suzhou’s trade with emerging markets has kept a rapid growth. Statistics show that in the first 4 months this year, the city’s imports and exports with countries along the Belt and Road routes reached 367.14 billion yuan, an increase of 15.3%, accounting for 43.1% of the city’s total, with exports up by 20.7% to 223.78 billion and imports rising by 7.8% to 143.36 billion yuan. The trade with the ASEAN grew by 30.4% to 161.73 billion yuan. And the trade with the BRICS countries and with African countries grew by 6.7% and 10.3%, respectively.
In the January-April period, the export value of mechanical and electrical products from Suzhou reached 423.28 billion yuan, increasing by 9.7%, accounting for 78.3% of the city’s total. Among them, the export of integrated circuits, electrical equipment, and computer spare parts & accessories rose by 26.7%, 20.6% and 65.6% to 53.91 billion yuan, 28.14 billion yuan, and 12.17 billion yuan, respectively. Meanwhile, the export of industrial robots surged by 106.5% to 300 million yuan.
