Shenzhen is expected to maintain its lead among domestic cities in terms of foreign trade for the 20th consecutive year, according to Shenzhen Customs.

The city's imports and exports exceeded US$414.8 billion in the first 11 months of this year, representing a 10.5-percent growth compared with the same period of last year.

Hong Kong remained Shenzhen's biggest trading partner in the first 11 months. The trade between the two neighbors exceeded US$129.8 billion during the period, increasing by 27.9 percent compared with the same period of last year.

A year-on-year 20.8-percent growth was seen in trade between Shenzhen and Taiwan China from January to November, which stood at US$27.39 billion. In contrast, the city’s trade with the United States, EU and Japan all declined in the past 11 months.

Shenzhen exported mechanical and electrical products worth more than US$174.2 billion in the past 11 months, growing by 7.6 percent compared with the same period of last year. The export volume accounted for more than 72.5 percent of the city's total during the period.

Meanwhile, exports of traditional labor-intensive products, including clothes, furniture, shoes, toys and plastic products, continued to decline, dropping by 13.9 percent year on year to US$24.95 billion in the period.

Having once had a heavy dependence on labor-intensive industries, the city has been shifting its focus to developing emerging industries including biomedicine, new material and creative industries.

Shenzhen's foreign trade volume for the first time exceeded the US$400-billion-mark last year to reach US$414.1 billion.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily)