Hubei Province's total imports and exports reached 402.31 billion yuan in the first half (H1) of this year, up 28.4 percent year on year, marking a record high, official data showed on July 17, 2025.

Notably, the second quarter of this year saw imports and exports surpass 220 billion yuan, growing by 39.1 percent, which was 34.6 percentage points higher than the national average.

In the first half of this year, Hubei had 8,393 foreign trade enterprises with actual import and export activities, an increase of 713 year on year. Among them, 7,569 were private enterprises. They contributed to a trade value of 286.25 billion yuan, accounting for more than 70 percent of Hubei's total imports and exports.  

During the same period, Hubei's trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative stood at 220.81 billion yuan, an increase of over 30 percent. And the trade with ASEAN and the EU — Hubei's top two trading partners — amounted to 92.67 billion yuan and 51.62 billion yuan, respectively, both rising by around 50 percent.

As of July 15, the Ezhou Huahu International Airport had launched 45 international cargo routes. It handled a total of 19,700 cargo flights during the first six months of the year, including 7,046 international flights. Benefiting from the airport, Ezhou's imports and exports surged by 2.7 times, the fastest among all cities in the province.  

Meanwhile, Wuhan's imports and exports registered 214.27 billion yuan, accounting for more than half of Hubei's total imports and exports. Huangshi, Yichang, and Xiangyang followed with trade values of 37.23 billion yuan, 27.19 billion yuan, and 21.6 billion yuan, respectively. Among the 17 cities, 14 achieved double-digit growth in imports and exports. (en.hubei.gov.cn by Ruan Xinqi)