North China's Shanxi province has grasped the nettle in terms of seizing opportunities to promote a great improvement in foreign trade and investments.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), Shanxi's foreign trade achieved rapid growth. The trade in imports and exports of goods increased during the period by 10.5 percent annually on average, while the trade structure continued to improve. Last year alone, exports of mechanical and electrical products and high-tech products accounted for 71.14 percent and 61.14 percent of the total, respectively. 

Trade in services has grown rapidly, with the total imports and exports increasing to $4.25 billion in 2020 from $3.0 billion in 2015.

The province's trading partners expanded to 188 countries and regions. And by the end of 2020, 1,599 enterprises in the province had strong import and export performances.

Over the past five years, Shanxi has utilized $9.43 billion in foreign capital.

A number of well-known companies – among them Siemens, Air Products and Chemicals Inc, Fonterra and Ford settled in Shanxi, and Fortune Global 500 enterprises invested in 89 projects in the province. Investors from 46 countries and regions poured in to invest in Shanxi. In 2020 alone, 13 foreign-funded companies in Shanxi set up R&D centers. 

The province's foreign investment cooperation also developed well. From 2016 to 2020, Shanxi directly invested $1.52 billion overseas and set up 280 businesses in 58 countries. 

To top it off, international-contracted projects have developed rapidly, with a cumulative turnover of $5.66 billion over the past five years.

The province has established a strategic cooperation alliance to help its enterprises go global, with 23 enterprises included as members. 

The JinFei Economic Trade and Cooperation Zone in Mauritius, funded and built by Shanxi, has attracted 40 companies from more than 10 countries to settle there.