The total value of imports and exports in East China's Shanghai hit 2.79 trillion yuan ($382.41 billion) the first eight months of the year, resulting in an impressive 8.4 percent gain compared with the same period in 2021 and setting a new historical high for this timeframe.

That's according to statistics from Shanghai Customs which said exports accounted for 1.14 trillion yuan of the total, up by 4.9 percent, while imports reached 1.65 trillion yuan, gaining 2.8 percent.

In particular, there was a growth spurt in the imports and exports of domestic enterprises. The data showed that during the period, the number of foreign trade enterprises in Shanghai with actual import and export activities increased by 5.7 percent to a total of 54,000.

Of these, the foreign trade of private enterprises experienced significant growth of 9.6 percent, reaching 859.75 billion yuan. This constituted 30.8 percent of the city's total value of imports and exports.

Furthermore, in the first eight months, Shanghai had a significant presence in bonded logistics imports and exports in its foreign trade – with the European Union, ASEAN, the United States and Japan as its top four trading partners.

The export growth was driven by robust performance in three emerging export goods: electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells.

Overall, Shanghai is widely said to have reinforced its position as the primary hub for imported consumer goods.