From January to February 2023, the total value of imported and exported products in Harbin, the capital city of China's northernmost Heilongjiang province, hit 7.58 billion yuan ($1.09 billion), an increase of 53.1 percent over the same period last year.
 
Among them, the import value reached 5.87 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 62.7 percent; and the export value reached 1.71 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 27.3 percent.
 
During the same period, the import and export value of Harbin with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative came in at 3.02 billion yuan, a surge of 140.8 percent when compared with 2022 figures. This accounts for 39.8 percent of the city's total trade value.
 
In the first two months of this year, Harbin imported 476,000 metric tons of soybeans, an increase of 30.5 percent; and the import value of these soybeans hit 2.18 billion yuan.
 
Meanwhile, Harbin imported 1.27 million tons of iron ore, indicating an increase of 0.6 percent, with an added value of 873 million yuan. 
 
The export value of mechanical and electrical products in Harbin was 983 million yuan, an increase of 81.1 percent, accounting for 57.6 percent of the city's total export value.
 
The export value of electromechanical products to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative stood at 719 million yuan, an increase of 121.7 percent, while the export value of electromechanical products to trading partners involved in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was 112 million yuan, an increase of 71 percent.