China's Hunan sees robust foreign trade growth in Q1

CHANGSHA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Hunan Province saw robust growth in its foreign trade in the first quarter of 2021 partly thanks to a low base in early 2020 due to COVID-19.

The foreign trade value reached 115.12 billion yuan (17.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the province from January to March, up 42.7 percent year on year, the customs in Changsha, the provincial capital, said Friday.

The export value increased by 54 percent year on year to 75.8 billion yuan, while the import rose 25 percent year on year to 39.32 billion yuan.

The booming crossborder e-commerce business has contributed to the strong growth, with the export value in the sector roaring up 237.9 percent year on year to 4.64 billion yuan, the customs said.

The province's trade values with its major trading partners of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States and the European Union saw increases of 43.1 percent, 162.5 percent and 44 percent, respectively, during this period.

Hunan's total trade volume reached 83.6 billion yuan in the first three months of last year, up 5.4 percent compared with the same period of 2019.