China's economic development zones see steady trade growth in 2017

BEIJING - China's national economic development zones reported steady trade growth in 2017, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The trade volume of the 219 national economic development zones reached 5.6 trillion yuan ($875 billion) last year, up 17.5 percent year-on-year, according to MOC spokesperson Gao Feng.

Exports stood at 3.2 trillion yuan last year, up 17 percent year-on-year and 6.2 percentage points higher than the national average growth.

Exports of high-tech goods hit 1.1 trillion yuan, up 11.5 percent year-on-year.

Imports reached 2.4 trillion yuan in 2017, up 18 percent year-on-year, which is slightly lower than the national growth on average.