XIAMEN, July 21 -- Fujian Province on China's eastern coast, which boasts traditional trade ties on the ancient Marine Silk Road, witnessed a strong growth in trade with Belt and Road (B&R) countries in the first half of the year (H1).

The trade volume grew by 13.6 percent year on year in H1, hitting 220.21 billion yuan (about 32 billion U.S. dollars). The amount accounted for 34.6 percent of the province's total foreign trade, according to Xiamen Customs Sunday.

The main export goods from Fujian are labor-intensive products and mechanical and electrical products. The exports of textiles and garments, furniture, bags, shoes, plastic products and toys hit 51.99 billion yuan in H1, a year-on-year increase of 23.7 percent.

The exports of mechanical and electrical products soared by 26.8 percent year on year to reach 46 billion yuan.

The largest component of Fujian's imports was crude oil, reaching 18.07 billion yuan in H1, up 10.4 percent year on year.

Fujian's trade with countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations reached 117.6 billion yuan in H1, up 15.1 percent, accounting for 53.5 percent of the total trade with B&R countries, according to the customs statistics.