According to Chengdu Evening Daily, the city’s exports during the first 10 months of 2010 exceeded US$11.2bn, up 42 per cent year-on-year. Exports to the US increased by 89 per cent to US$1.1bn and to Japan by 62 per cent to US$312m. The biggest growth came from new markets such as Iran, Iraq and the Laos, which combined amounted to US$850m.

Chengdu’s imports grew 52 per cent to reach nearly US$8.9bn over this period. The city government is expecting a big increase in imports and exports over the next five years, estimating that their combined value will exceed US$110bn by 2015.

The export and import value of nearby Chongqing surged 61 per cent year-on-year to US$12.43bn for the whole of 2010, according to municipal Customs data. Exports increased 75 per cent to US$7.49bn, which was nearly 44 per cent higher than the national average.