The total foreign trade value of the Yangtze River Delta region reached 9.1 trillion yuan (about 1.28 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first seven months of 2024, hitting a record high, Shanghai Customs said Tuesday.

This figure translates into a 5.8 percent year-on-year foreign trade value increase in the region, while accounting for 36.7 percent of China's total foreign trade value in the first seven months of the year, according to Shanghai Customs.

The value of automobile exports reached 180.63 billion yuan, up 2.7 percent year on year, and accounting for 39 percent of the country's total automobile export value in the same period.

The value of ship exports amounted to 111.41 billion yuan, an increase of 79 percent year on year, accounting for 64.1 percent of China's total ship export value in the same period.

The export value of high-tech products reached 1.2 trillion yuan in this period, up 4.4 percent year on year, while contributing 34.8 percent of the country's total export value of high-tech products in the first seven months of 2024.

The Yangtze River Delta region's foreign trade value stemming from trade with Belt and Road participating countries reached 4.06 trillion yuan, up 7.7 percent year on year. The value of its trade with other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership totaled 2.77 trillion yuan, a 4.9 percent year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, the value of its trade with other BRICS countries amounted to 1.21 trillion yuan, up 8.3 percent year on year.

During this same period, foreign trade value generated by private enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta region reached 4.89 trillion yuan, an increase of 9 percent year on year, and accounting for 53.7 percent of the region's total foreign trade value. Private enterprises have become an important force in the development of foreign trade in this region in the east of China.