Two customs officials from Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province examine containers stocked with foreign trade goods. [Photo/hz66.com]

Huzhou's imports and exports from January to August were valued at 99.88 billion yuan ($15.36 billion), up 40 percent year-on-year, according to Huzhou Customs.

The growth rate was the highest in East China's Zhejiang province over this period.

Specifically, the city's exports expanded 42.2 percent to 91.25 billion yuan, with the growth rate also being the highest in Zhejiang.

Huzhou had seen positive growth in its exports for 17 consecutive months since April of last year.

Meanwhile, its imports were valued at 8.63 billion yuan in the first eight months of this year, rising by 20.7 percent year-on-year.

In August alone, Huzhou's foreign trade volume totaled 13.25 billion yuan, a 33 percent increase year-on-year, the third highest increase among cities in Zhejiang.

Its exports registered the highest growth rate of 31.2 percent in the province to 12.03 billion yuan in the month, while its imports increased by 54 percent year-on-year to 1.22 billion yuan.