Foreign trade through Shanghai during the first quarter of 2010 increased almost 40% year-on-year as domestic demand pushed throughput at the city’s ports to US$200.2 billion, reported state media. The figure represents a 3.4% rise over 2008’s total, suggesting a return to prosperity not seen since the start of the global financial crisis. Exports increased 28% to US$120.4 billion as imports grew 56.8% to US$79.8 billion. Growth in trade has been driven by new demand from emerging markets like Southeast Asia, while trade with Western nations has remained mostly flat. China’s trade surplus totaled US$1.68 billion in April, with imports growing 60% to US$419.9 billion as exports grew 29.2% to US$436 billion.