According to data released by Huangpu Customs on April 17, Dongguan's imports and exports totalled 321.6 billion RMB in the first quarter of 2021, expanding 28.6% year-on-year.

Among them, exports were 191.2 billion RMB, up 28%; imports 130.4 billion RMB, up 29.5%. The general trade imports and exports were 131.17 billion RMB, up 17.5%; the processing trade imports and exports were 113.61 billion RMB, up 25.9%. The imports and exports of foreign-invested enterprises were 147.04 billion RMB, up 32.5%.

Dongguan, known as the "World Factory", is home to many foreign trade companies and is a city dominated by an export-oriented economy. Since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, some foreign trade companies have been significantly affected. In response to the epidemic's impact, the city introduced a series of policies and measures, which effectively promoted the accelerated restoration of economic and social order.

As the domestic COVID-19 epidemic was brought under control, various measures were implemented to promote stable growth in foreign trade, and the international market demand sees a significant rebound. The growth rate of Dongguan's foreign trade rebounded since January this year after falling. The monthly growth rate of foreign trade in the first quarter remained high above double digits.

In the first quarter, Dongguan's import and export scale ranked second in Guangdong Province, second only to Shenzhen. Among the nine cities in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan's import and export growth rate ranked sixth, followed by Jiangmen, Guangzhou and Zhaoqing cities.

During the period, the top seven trading partners of Dongguan were ASEAN, the United States, the Taiwan region of China, the Hong Kong special administrative region of China, the European Union (excluding the United Kingdom), South Korea and Japan, the trade with which accounting for 74.2 % of the city's total imports and exports in the first quarter. Imports and exports to China's Taiwan and the United States increased by 51.3% and 48.6%, respectively. The city’s trade with countries along the "Belt and Road" initiative rose 15.2% to reach 73.93 billion RMB.