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Zhejiang's foreign trade got off to a good start this year, with both imports and exports reaching historic highs for the same period.

According to statistics from Hangzhou Customs, the total import and export value of the province reached 1.21 trillion yuan ($167.74 billion) in the first quarter, up 7.8 percent year on year. Among them, exports amounted to 874.63 billion yuan, up 6.6 percent, while imports reached 331.88 billion yuan, up 11.3 percent.

In the first quarter, the province's trade with ASEAN, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa reached 168.5 billion yuan, 143.8 billion yuan, 131.17 billion yuan, and 92.26 billion yuan, respectively, increasing by 6.7 percent, 9.7 percent, 18.1 percent, and 9.2 percent.

Trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 629.3 billion yuan, up 8.2 percent, accounting for 52.2 percent of the province's total import and export value and driving the province's foreign trade growth by 4.3 percentage points. Additionally, trade with the United States and Australia reached 161.16 billion yuan and 42.01 billion yuan, up by 10.8 percent and 16.9 percent, respectively.

In the first quarter, imports and exports by private enterprises in the province reached 968.15 billion yuan, up 9.0 percent, accounting for 80.2 percent of the province's total foreign trade, an increase of 0.8 percentage points.

The number of foreign-funded enterprises with import and export performance in the province reached 6,217, an increase of 4.3 percent. They achieved continuous year-on-year growth in imports, exports, and total trade value, reaching 152.62 billion yuan, 94.96 billion yuan, and 57.66 billion yuan, up by 3.4 percent, 1.8 percent, and 6.2 percent, respectively, for two consecutive quarters.