Shanghai's imports grew 0.9 percent in the first half of this year to 747.2 billion yuan (US$112.53 billion), 5.6 percentage points more than the national average, according to the Shanghai Commerce Commission.

But exports shrank by 2 percent to 562.3 billion yuan. The decline was 0.1 percentage points slower than the national average. Shanghai is among a few provinces and municipalities that reported an increase in imports, officials said.

Shanghai Free Trade Zone led the city in foreign trade with exports surging 15.1 percent in the first half. It contributed 27.7 percent of the city's total imports and exports.

Officials said that foreign direct investment in China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone reached US$2.93 billion in the first five months, accounting for 41.9 percent of the city's total. Meanwhile, Chinese companies in the zone invested US$12.8 billion abroad, 71.5 percent of the city's total.

Shanghai Customs simplified clearance procedures for FTZ companies, reducing clearance time by 41.3 percent for imports and 36.8 percent for exports, and saving more than 10 percent of logistics costs for companies.

The pilot zone also has an online cargo declaration platform accessed by 20 government agencies. As a result, cargo declaration can be done in a minute or two while required documents are reduced substantially.

Source: Shanghai FTZ Government.cn