This Day, That Year

Item from Feb 12, 1995, in China Daily: Sino-South American trade surged to a new high last year, with most products going via Hong Kong. A Chinese company official introduces home appliances, machinery and textile to customers at a recent exhibition of Chinese products in Lima, capital of Peru. Hong Kong remains one of the largest trade partners and overseas investors in the Chinese mainland ... Trade between Hong Kong and the mainland hit $31.37 billion during the first 10 months of last year, up a quarter over the previous year.

Mainland exports to Hong Kong increased 42.5 percent to reach $24.16 billion, and imports from Hong Kong dropped 9.9 percent to $7.21 billion. Hong Kong is the second-largest trade partner with the mainland, ranking only after Japan.

The trade volume between the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region reached about 2.3 trillion yuan ($374 billion) last year, down 7.2 percent year-on-year, according to the latest statistics released by the General Administration of Customs. Hong Kong remained the fourth-largest trade partner with the mainland. The mainland's exports to Hong Kong totaled 2.2 trillion yuan last year, while imports from Hong Kong hit about 79 billion yuan.