Beijing's foreign trade rose 0.7% year on year in the first two months of 2021, with exports up 4.2% and imports down 0.1%, according to Beijing Customs.

The economy of the Chinese capital showed overall stability and upward momentum in January and February. Its foreign trade stood at 425.67 billion yuan (US$ 65.43 billion) for the first two months, with the monthly trade volume reaching the 200-billion-yuan threshold for the third consecutive month.

The EU was Beijing's largest trading partner during the first two months, followed by the U.S., the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia, and Saudi Arabia. The trade volume between Beijing and the EU reached 56.92 billion yuan, up 24.9% year on year. 

In terms of major imports, Beijing imported 123.21 billion yuan worth of crude oil, down 23.1%; 34.83 billion yuan worth of automobiles, up 37.1%; and 27.56 billion yuan worth of natural gas, an increase of 3.2%. 

In terms of major exports, Beijing reported growths of exported mobile phones, integrated circuit, and auto parts, up by 82.4%, 10%, and 59.2%, respectively.

The city's export of pharmaceutical materials and medicines increased 12-fold to 6.52 billion yuan in the same period. 

Thanks to the streamlining of customs clearance and facilitation of trade services, Beijing's foreign trade has maintained a steady growth. To facilitate companies to get approval, Beijing Customs has launched a series of measures such as cutting down the number of required documents and simplifying the handling of documents. Beijing Customs has also exempted 12 types of biological products from certain import certifications, greatly shortening the import process.