Foreign trade

In 2000, the flow of import and export in Jiangsu province hit a record high of US$45.638 billion, a remarkable increase of 46 per cent over the 1999 total of US$31.258 billion.

Total export value increased by 40.8 per cent, from US$18.307 billion in 1999 to US$25.769 billion in 2000. Exports played an important role in the provincial economy: total export value was equivalent to 24.8 per cent of Jiangsu's GDP. Jiangsu is the second largest exporting province in China and its share in the country's total export in 2000 was 10.34 per cent.

The province's key export market was Japan. About a quarter of the province's exports were destined for Japan in 2000. The second largest export destination was the USA, who took nearly 20 per cent of the province's exports. Exports to Japan and the USA combined took up about 45 per cent of Jiangsu's total export. Hong Kong's role as a stepping stone for the province's export declined, with its share in the province's total export shrinking from 23.46 per cent in 1995 to 7.9 per cent. In terms of value, exports to Hong Kong also dropped between 1995 to 2000 (see Table 7.9.2 below).

Table 7.9.2: Top five export markets, Jiangsu Province, 1995 and 2000

Country/region	Export value (US$ million)	% of export total
1995
Japan	3,097.61	26.27
Hong Kong	2,766.88	23.46
USA	1,755.35	14.89
EU	1,470.58	12.47
ASEAN	623.47	5.29
Total	9,713.89	82.38
2000
Japan	6,361.07	24.69
USA	5,009.53	19.44
Hong Kong	2,034.63	7.90
Republic of Korea	1,058.88	4.11
Netherlands	1,058.63	4.11
Total	15,522.74	60.25

In 2000, the province imported US$19.870 billion worth of goods, an increase of 53.41 per cent over US$12.952 billion in 1999. Only 12.25 per cent of this (US$2.43306 billion) was spent on primary products, while 87.75 per cent, or US$17.43645 billion, went on manufactured goods.

Japan was again the largest single source of import. In 2000, imports to the province from Japan accounted for 25.4 per cent of the total. Over 60 per cent of imports came from the top five markets (see Table 7.9.3)

Table 7.9.3: Top five import markets, Jiangsu Province, 1995 and 2000

Country/region	Import value (US$ million)	% of import total
1995
Japan	1,401.24	28.01
Hong Kong	932.14	18.64
EU	760.86	15.21
USA	613.02	12.26
Republic of Korea	387.79	7.75
Total	4,095.05	81.87
2000
Japan	5,047.83	25.40
Taiwan Province	2,654.39	13.36
Republic of Korea	2,341.90	11.79
USA	1,516.58	7.63
Sweden	1,052.35	5.30
Total	12,613.05	63.48