The imports and exports of Zhejiang province totaled 3.08 trillion yuan ($449.05 billion) in 2019, up 8.1 percent year-on-year and accounting for 9.8 percent of the nation's total last year, according to Hangzhou Customs.

This is the first time that the province's foreign trade has surpassed 3 trillion yuan. It previously exceeded 1 trillion yuan in 2006 and 2 trillion yuan in 2011.

Growths of the province's annual imports, exports, and the two combined were 4.2 percent, 4 percent, and 4.7 percent higher than the national average, contributed 18.8 percent, 23.2 percent, and 22.3 percent of the nation's total respectively. Zhejiang's contribution to the nation's foreign trade growth ranked first among all domestic provinces last year.

The province's trade surplus also increased by 10.6 percent to 1.53 trillion yuan.

Zhejiang saw stable growth in its exports to the European Union and major emerging markets, especially to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Statistics showed that in 2019, Zhejiang had exports worth 501.28 billion yuan, 252.13 billion yuan, 212.17 billion yuan, and 195.85 billion yuan to the EU, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Latin America, and Africa, accounting for 21.7 percent, 10.9 percent, 9.2 percent, and 8.5 percent of the province's total exports respectively. Its exports to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative increased by 16.8 percent to 796.11 billion yuan.

In terms of exported goods, mechanical, electrical, high-tech, and labor-intensive products saw an increase in their proportion. The province exported 1.01 trillion yuan worth of mechanical and electrical products, as well as 160.54 billion yuan of high-tech products, accounting for 43.9 percent and 7 percent of its total exports. Exports of labor-intensive products totaled 811.78 billion yuan.

Private sector enterprises contributed greatly to the province's exports. In 2019, the province's private sector companies exported 1.84 trillion yuan worth of goods, up 11.5 percent year-on-year and accounting for 79.8 percent of the province's total exports.

Among all cities in the province, Ningbo, Jinhua, and Hangzhou exported the most goods, valued at 596.96 billion yuan, 403.38 billion yuan, and 361.27 billion yuan respectively. Wenzhou, Lishui, and Zhoushan maintained the fastest growth at 29.4 percent, 18.4 percent, and 17.8 percent respectively.