Customs data released on September 22 shows that in the first eight months of this year, the Yangtze River Delta region exported four categories of robots—surgical robots, intelligent bionic robots, cleaning robots, and industrial robots—totaling 16 billion yuan in value, a dramatic threefold surge compared to the same period last year.

Robots serve as a prime illustration of the region's rapid export growth. According to customs statistics, during the first eight months, the Yangtze River Delta exported 5.35 trillion yuan worth of mechanical and electrical products, accounting for 64.2% of the region's total exports during that span, representing a year-on-year increase of 26.6%. Among these, integrated circuit exports reached 730.44 billion yuan, doubling year-on-year; ship exports hit 181.37 billion yuan, up 30.8%; automobile exports totaled 434.49 billion yuan, climbing 66.8%; and high-end equipment exports amounted to 492.64 billion yuan, growing by 22%.

Represented by robots, the Yangtze River Delta is witnessing the emergence of new export growth drivers. During the first eight months, emerging products represented by electric vehicles, photovoltaic products, and lithium batteries saw exports reaching 565.85 billion yuan, up 59.4% year-on-year; high-tech products closely tied to the artificial intelligence industry exported 2.24 trillion yuan, growing 48.6%; pharmaceutical materials and medicines exports amounted to 60.47 billion yuan, increasing 16.6%.

Compared with exports, imports in the Yangtze River Delta also maintained rapid growth. In the first eight months, the region imported 2.26 trillion yuan of mechanical and electrical products, up 36.2% year-on-year. Among these, electronic component imports reached 1.11 trillion yuan, surging 72.5%; imports of automatic data processing equipment and parts totaled 224.24 billion yuan, doubling year-on-year, providing robust support for stable production in the region's advanced manufacturing sector. Additionally, the Yangtze River Delta imported 448.3 billion yuan of metal ores and sands during the first eight months, an increase of 19.1%, and agricultural products worth 328.66 billion yuan, up 3.6%.

According to customs statistics, total imports and exports in the Yangtze River Delta reached 13.16 trillion yuan over the first eight months, setting a new historical high for the period, up 18.8% year-on-year, accounting for 37.8% of the nation's total foreign trade during the same period, marking 18 consecutive months of growth.