Shandong sees trade with BRICS countries rise
China DailyUploaded containers are seen at Qingdao Port in Shandong province on Jan 9, 2023. According to statistics provided by Qingdao Customs, since the official launch of the BRICS cooperation mechanism in 2009, Shandong's trade volume with the other four members - Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa - has grown at an average annual rate of 13.1 percent. In the first seven months of 2023, Shandong's trade volume with other BRICS countries reached 286.47 billion yuan, up 23.2 percent year-on-year, accounting for 15.4 percent of the province's total foreign trade value over this period. According to Qingdao Customs, among Shandong's exports to other BRICS countries, outbound shipments of mechanical and electrical products account for nearly 50 percent. In the first seven months, Shandong exported 49.35 billion yuan of mechanical and electrical products to these countries, an increase of 39.3 percent year-on-year, which accounted for 48.9 percent of the total export value.