Cars headed for overseas markets are seen at Lianyungang Port in East China's Jiangsu Province on Wednesday. According to the port, its cargo throughput in the first quarter reached 62.86 million tons, up 3.28 percent year-on-year. Photo: cnsphoto

East China's Jiangsu Province, an economic powerhouse in the country, said it has seen its exports rise again since the outbreak of COVID-19. Jiangsu's positive export figures is a sign that China's foreign trade is recovering fast. 

The province's imports and exports stood at 366.3 billion yuan ($51.6 billion) in April, up 11 percent year-on-year and recording the first monthly rise in 2020, according to data from local Nanjing customs. 

The province's exports rose 19.1 percent to 226.8 billion yuan, while imports slid 0.1 percent to 139.5 billion yuan.

It's worth noting that Jiangsu's foreign trade with ASEAN countries bucked broad declines to grow 4.6 percent to 178.8 billion yuan in the first four months, while exports to the EU, the US, South Korea and Japan fell.

However, Bai Ming, deputy director of the Ministry of Commerce's International Market Research Institute, maintained a cautious attitude, saying time is needed to see whether the trend will sustain in the coming months.

"The long-term prospects of China's foreign trade depend to a large extent on global economic recovery, but the uncertainties of the global pandemic make China's imports and exports prospect a little bit complex," he said, noting that domestic exporters may still face pressure in May and June.

But given the irreplaceable nature of many Chinese products, it's expected that China's foreign trade will rebound in the second half of the year, Bai said.

Data from the General Administration of Customs showed China's total exports rose 8.2 percent year-on-year in April, to reach 1.41 trillion yuan. It is the first time China's exports have posted positive growth since a double-digit slump in the first quarter due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.