China's foreign trade up 22 pct in first 11 months

People visit the 130th session of the China Import and Export Fair, or the Canton Fair, in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)

BEIJING, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's total imports and exports expanded 22 percent year on year to 35.39 trillion yuan (5.55 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first 11 months of 2021, official data showed Tuesday.

The figure, already surpassing the 32.16-trillion-yuan total for all of 2020, marked a 24-percent increase from the pre-epidemic level in 2019, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Both exports and imports continued double-digit growth in the first 11 months of the year, surging 21.8 percent and 22.2 percent from a year earlier, respectively.

In November alone, the country's imports and exports rose 20.5 percent year on year, up 11.4 percent from that in October, the data showed.