China has witnessed a spike in the number of new taxpaying market entities in April as the country’s economy continues to recover. A total of 1.48 million new market entities handling tax-related business were registered last month, an increase of 28.8 percent from the same period last year, data from the State Taxation Administration showed. Newly registered companies numbered 710,000, representing a rise of 25.6 percent year on year. The number of new individual businesses stood at 759,000 in the reporting period, up 33.6 percent from a year ago. New market entities handling tax-related business owned by foreign investors totaled 6,000 in April, surging 87.9 percent year on year, while the number of new market entities privately owned went up 28.7 percent to over 1.46 million. In particular, the number of new market entities from the transportation sector, leasing and business services, and accommodation and catering industries registered rapid growth last month, the administration said. Meanwhile, the foreign trade of east China’s Zhejiang Province rose 8.3 percent year on year to 1.56 trillion yuan (about 225 billion U.S. dollars) in the first four months of this year, according to Hangzhou Customs. Of the total, exports exceeded one trillion yuan, up 9.8 percent year on year, while imports grew by 4 percent to 400.98 billion yuan. From January to April, Zhejiang’s foreign trade with the emerging markets of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa, registered an increase of 17.7 percent, 12.8 percent, 17.4 percent and 30.8 percent, respectively, accounting for 43.6 percent of the province’s total. Meanwhile, the province’s trade with countries along the Belt and Road and other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership rose by 17.6 percent and 9.9 percent, respectively. During the period, mechanical and electrical products made a contribution of 45.5 percent to Zhejiang’s total exports. Its imports of energy products, including crude oil, coal and natural gas, surged 14.5 percent.