The volumes of imports and exports totaled 235.6 billion yuan ($34.68 billion) in Zhejiang in May, a year-on-year growth of 20 percent and a new record for a single month, according to Hangzhou customs bureau.

The import value was 51.3 billion yuan, up by 33.1 percent while exports, exceeding 184 billion, grew by 16.7 percent. This is the first time that Zhejiang's export volume has surpassed 180 billion yuan.

Zhang Handong, director of the Zhejiang Academy of Commerce, attributed the increase to the recovery of global trade.

Zhejiang is actively taking part in building the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and the province's trade with BRI countries saw fast growth. The ships, mobile phones, clothes and other products made in Zhejiang are continuously transported to countries involved in the BRI. The commodities from these countries like refined oil and coal are also imported to Zhejiang

The economies of the European Union, the United States and Japan are growing steadily, which indicates a stable and foreseeable prospect for Zhejiang's exports. In the first five months of 2017, the EU remained the largest export market for Zhejiang. The increases of exports to the US and Korea were also eye-catching, with a growth rate of 17.3 percent and 23.1 percent respectively.

In the first half of 2017, China's currency, the renminbi, appreciated slightly, especially against the US dollar, a direct impetus to the increase of import value.

The data from the customs department show that from January to May, the total import and export volumes of Zhejiang exceeded 996 billion yuan. Ningbo contributed the most to the development of the province's foreign trade in terms of both imports and exports. Private companies accounted for an increasing proportion in Zhejiang's export sector by expanding in overseas markets.

Containers wait to be shipped to other countries at a port in East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo by Yang Bo/Chinanews.com]