Across China: Zhejiang

Exports recover

Zhejiang province, an economic powerhouse in eastern China, saw signs of recovery in its foreign trade in March. Local customs authorities said that last month, Zhejiang's export value stood at $9.81 billion, down 8.9 percent from the same month last year. But the decline rate was significantly better (29.4 percent lower) than February's. And the province's March export value was 78.2 percent higher than the previous month. The import value was $4.11 billion, up 28.9 percent month-on-month but down 16.3 percent year-on-year. The province's total foreign trade volume amounted to $37.26 billion in the first quarter, down 19.3 percent from a year earlier.

(China Daily 04/27/2009 page5)