China's Shanxi posts robust foreign trade

TAIYUAN -- China's Shanxi province saw its foreign trade volume reach 204.1 billion yuan (about $32 billion) from January to November this year, up 58.1 percent year-on-year, according to local customs.

Its exports increased 63.8 percent year-on-year to 124.7 billion yuan while imports climbed 49.8 percent to 79.4 billion yuan during the period, according to customs authorities in the provincial capital Taiyuan.

Foreign-funded enterprises of the province contributed nearly half of the foreign trade, realizing a total trade volume of nearly 99 billion yuan, up 26.4 percent year-on-year. Notably, the private sector posted a staggering foreign trade growth of 170.5 percent year-on-year to 71.8 billion yuan during the period, according to the customs data.

The United States, Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are the largest three trade partners of the province, with trade values reaching 37.1 billion yuan, 23.3 billion yuan and 22.1 billion yuan, respectively.

From January to November, Shanxi exported over 5.7 billion yuan of integrated circuit products, an increase of 781.7 percent year-on-year. The exported coke and coal grew by 96.8 percent and 51.3 percent year-on-year to 167,000 tons and 241,000 tons, respectively.