Data from Qingdao Customs shows that Qingdao's exports reached 254.5 billion yuan in the first half of 2024, marking a 9.8% increase. The city's total trade volume for the period was up by 1.8%, at 437.83 billion yuan which accounts for 27% of Shandong's total trade, maintaining its leading position. June alone saw a trade volume of 81.76 billion yuan, a 1.1% increase, with exports at 49.98 billion yuan, up 11.7%. These figures outpaced provincial growth rates by 6.4, 11.8, and 1.1 percentage points respectively.

Both June and the first half of the year set historical records for trade volumes, with June's trade making up 27.4% of the province's total at 81.76 billion yuan, boosting provincial trade growth by 0.3 percentage points. Qingdao's first-half trade volume surpassed 437 billion yuan for the first time, ranking 5th among 15 sub-provincial cities and 4th among five cities with separate state planning.

Qingdao's export growth outperformed national and provincial averages, with its 9.8% increase exceeding national and provincial rates by 2.9 and 0.7 percentage points, respectively. The export increase of 22.7 billion yuan contributed 27.5% to Shandong's overall export growth, driving it up by 2.5 percentage points. Only Shenzhen and Ningbo saw higher export growth among China's eight eastern coastal cities.

Qingdao saw growth in exports of machinery, labor-intensive products, and agricultural products in the first half of the year. The city focused on expanding its international market reach, implementing the Remarkable Shandong • Trade Global initiative. Through notices that outline recommendations for key international trade shows and exhibitions that local businesses should consider participating in during 2024, the city administration recommends 130 key overseas exhibitions for 2024, having organized participation in 71 international trade fairs for 1,061 participating local companies that have successfully converted industrial strengths into trade advantages. Key export categories included machinery and electronics at 129.13 billion yuan, up 14.4%, making up 50.7% of total exports. Household appliance exports rose by 26.1% to 20.32 billion yuan, auto parts increased by 6.4% to 11.76 billion yuan, and container exports surged by 73.4% to 8.95 billion yuan. Products from China's "new three" industries—new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products—saw a 48.2% rise to 2.27 billion yuan, far outpacing the national growth rate by 59 percentage points and accounting for 42% of Shandong's total in this category. Labor-intensive product exports grew by 0.9% to 42.58 billion yuan, while agricultural exports increased by 10.2% to 23.06 billion yuan, making up 16.7% and 9.1% of total exports respectively.

Iron ore imports rose by 38% to 18.19 million tons, with the value increasing by 48.6% to 15.68 billion yuan. This category accounted for 8.6% of the city's total imports, up 3.2 percentage points, and contributed 2.6 percentage points to overall import growth. The average price of iron ore also saw a 7.7% rise, reaching 862.1 yuan per ton. Machinery and electronics imports also grew substantially, increasing by 26.5% to 32.84 billion yuan, making up 17.9% of the total import value. Within this category, imports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment surged by an impressive 163.7% to 8.56 billion yuan.

General trade imports and exports amounted to 291.83 billion yuan, marking a 6.7% increase and comprising 66.7% of the city's total foreign trade value, up 3.1 percentage points from the previous year. Meanwhile, processing trade also experienced growth, with its imports and exports reaching 66.72 billion yuan, a 4.6% rise which accounts for 15.2% of the total trade value.

Private enterprises spearheaded the H1 2024 surge with imports and exports totaling 302.62 billion yuan, or 69.1% of the city's trade. Foreign-invested enterprises' trade grew by 10% to 84.65 billion yuan, making up 19.3%, while state-owned enterprises' trade rose by 11.7% to 50.41 billion yuan, accounting for 11.5%.

This trend also saw Qingdao's continued expansion of its trade network with exports to Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries, RCEP signatory countries, the EU, ASEAN, the US, and Japan growing by 8.9%, 4.9%, 18.2%, 11.5%, 14.6%, and 1.4%, respectively.