The “14th Five-Year Plan” period was a period of overcoming difficulties and forging ahead in the development of foreign trade in Lüliang City, and even more so, a period of breakthroughs and leaps forward, with both quantity and quality improving. During these five years, Lüliang broke through the limitations of its inland geographical boundaries, continuously exerting efforts on both the dual tracks of increasing total foreign trade volume and optimizing its structure. The city’s export products gradually shifted from mainly traditional resource-based primary products to high-value-added agricultural products and fine chemical products. The development trend of “both quantity and quality improving” in foreign trade became increasingly prominent, injecting strong “external driving force” into the city’s high-quality economic development.
Dual-track approach demonstrates resilience. Five years have passed; time and space have changed, but Lüliang’s determination and achievements in promoting import and export volume remain unchanged. Despite the complex and ever-changing domestic and international situation, Lüliang’s foreign trade has persevered, demonstrating a steady and resilient development trajectory with impressive data. In 2021, the city’s total import and export volume exceeded the provincial target, marking a strong start to the “14th Five-Year Plan” for foreign trade development. Exports maintained positive growth in 2022, showcasing a solid foundation for development. A strong rebound occurred in 2024, with both total volume and growth rate ranking third in the province, exceeding the annual target by 988 million yuan, setting a new historical record. From January to October 2025, facing new market challenges, its counter-trend growth demonstrated its strong resilience.
The wheels of time roll forward, and the ship of development sails against the wind and waves. Lüliang’s foreign trade has made continuous breakthroughs in structural optimization, making its high-quality development increasingly prominent. Exports have achieved a remarkable transformation, shifting from a single category to a diversified pattern. The export structure, which in 2021 was mainly based on fertilizers, solar cells, and agricultural products, has gradually developed into a multi-category synergistic approach. From January to October 2025, chemical industrial products became the largest export category, with plastics and their products, base metals and their products also showing growth. The proportion of high value-added products continued to climb, significantly enhancing export competitiveness. While metal ores still dominate imports, the structure is becoming increasingly diversified. Imports of electromechanical products increased by 1056% in 2024, and imports of animal and vegetable oils increased by 71.9% in 2025, providing strong support for the city’s industrial upgrading.
The expanding foreign trade network has become a major highlight of Lüliang’s foreign trade development. On the one hand, traditional markets remain solid, with Australia maintaining its position as the primary trading partner, and the depth and breadth of trade cooperation continuously expanding. On the other hand, significant progress has been made in developing emerging markets, with rapid growth in trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and RCEP member countries. From January to October 2025, imports and exports to Latin America and Africa achieved explosive growth. Currently, export markets have expanded to more than 50 countries and regions, including Turkey, the UAE, and Thailand. This diversified market layout effectively reduces the risks associated with fluctuations in a single market, providing an important guarantee for the continued stable development of foreign trade.
Policy Empowerment Drives Strong Momentum. What fuels the rapid development of foreign trade? Faced with developmental questions, Lüliang’s answer is: the continuous release of policy dividends and precise empowerment. During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, the Lüliang Municipal Government consistently adhered to a problem-oriented and demand-oriented approach, introducing a series of targeted and high-value policy measures to help foreign trade enterprises overcome difficulties, empower and enhance efficiency, and comprehensively activate the endogenous driving force for foreign trade development.
Through the continuous deepening of customs clearance facilitation reforms, a fast track for foreign trade enterprises to “go global” has been opened.
The municipal commerce department, in conjunction with Jinyang Customs, has intensified its support efforts for import and export enterprises affected by the international situation. They have addressed and resolved import and export constraints, proactively collaborating with customs authorities to leverage enterprises’ AEO certification and introduce new models such as “pre-export supervision + integrated port-zone linkage” and “local inspection + fast port clearance.” These models, coupled with 24-hour appointment-based inspections and advance declarations, have reduced customs clearance time to approximately one hour, minimizing inspection losses and ensuring that Lüliang products reach the world in optimal condition. The foreign trade development of Wenshui Rongshengda Fruit Trading Co., Ltd. is a vivid example of this policy benefit. As Lüliang City’s first “approved exporter” and the first provincial-level key leading agricultural enterprise in Shandong Province to receive this certification, the company obtained AEO advanced certification in 2024. Since then, it has enjoyed significant reductions in export fruit inspection rates and shorter customs clearance times. Through the continuous deepening of facilitation reforms, this company is better positioned to bring “Wenshui Crisp Pears” to the global market. Its exports of fresh pears and apples increased from several million yuan annually at the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period to over 80 million yuan in 2024, achieving a leapfrog growth in foreign trade exports.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Lüliang Municipal Government signed a memorandum of understanding with Taiyuan Customs to deepen practical cooperation and provide strong support for the in-depth development of foreign trade. It successfully launched the first China-Europe freight train service from Lüliang Wenshui to Moscow, opening a new channel connecting the inland and European markets. In terms of enterprise services, Lüliang strengthened cooperation with Jinyang Customs, Huayuan Land Port Group, and other units, establishing a “one-on-one” assistance mechanism for key foreign trade enterprises to accurately address their needs and solve their development problems. It also organized multiple training sessions, export business matchmaking meetings, and key international exhibitions such as the Canton Fair and the China International Import Expo for foreign trade enterprises and potential companies, helping them overcome development bottlenecks, improve their business capabilities, and expand into international markets.
Solid foundation built. Over the past five years, private enterprises have consistently been the main force in the city’s foreign trade development. The number of enterprises with proven track record increased from 75 in 2021 to 105 in October 2025. These enterprises, leveraging their own strengths, have cultivated the international market and achieved remarkable results in product innovation, brand building, and market expansion, becoming benchmarks for the city’s foreign trade transformation and upgrading. Shanxi Huaxin Fertilizer Co., Ltd., as a leading enterprise in Jiaocheng County’s specialized town for nitro-compound fertilizer, is a prime example of a private enterprise’s success in foreign trade development. “Our company’s leapfrog development in foreign trade also benefits from policy support and the integration of industry, academia, and research,” said a relevant department head of the company. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Huaxin Fertilizer’s cumulative export volume reached 560,000 tons, generating revenue of 800 million yuan. With high-quality products and comprehensive services, it has established a strong brand image in the international market.
Huaxin Fertilizer’s success in foreign trade is inseparable from the precise policies and strong support of governments at all levels. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Lüliang City actively guided foreign trade enterprises to secure national and provincial special funds for foreign trade and economic development, supporting them in product innovation and R&D, technological upgrading, and enhancing their international business capabilities. Jiaocheng County government successively issued a series of policies, including the “Implementation Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of Specialized Towns in Jiaocheng County,” providing key support to specialized towns in areas such as industry, finance, land, finance, and talent. It also established a special science and technology project fund annually to provide subsidies for enterprises upgrading their testing and inspection centers, comprehensively safeguarding their innovative development. Under the guidance and support of these policies, many foreign trade enterprises have committed to improving the technological content and brand value of their products, cultivating unique new competitive advantages in foreign trade, and embracing the global market with greater confidence.
Following the right path leads to a bright future. Openness is the only way for Lüliang’s development and the core driving force for sustained growth in foreign trade. Standing at a new historical starting point, Lüliang will continue to uphold the concept of openness and inclusiveness, seize the opportunity for leapfrog development, bravely break through geographical boundaries, and forge ahead on the new journey of opening up to the outside world.
