According to the Guangdong Sub-Administration of the General Administration of Customs, the nine mainland cities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) recorded a total import and export value of 6.77 trillion yuan in the first three quarters of this year.

This represents a year-on-year increase of 4.1% and accounts for 20.1% of China's total foreign trade during the same period. Exports from these cities reached 4.33 trillion yuan, up 1.6%, while imports rose significantly by 8.9% to 2.44 trillion yuan.

The Chinese mainland cities of the GBA have now maintained positive year-on-year foreign trade growth for nine consecutive quarters. In the third quarter alone, their combined imports and exports totaled 2.39 trillion yuan, up 3.9%, marking the highest quarterly performance in the past five years.

Exports were buoyed by products with high technological content. From January to September, exports of mechanical and electrical products increased 7.2% to 3 trillion yuan, accounting for 69.5% of total exports and contributing 4.7 percentage points to overall export growth.

On the import side, demand for manufacturing-related and consumer products remained strong. Imports of mechanical and electrical products — key to industrial production — surged 14.2% to 1.76 trillion yuan, representing 72.3% of total imports and contributing 9.8 percentage points to overall import growth.