A nighttime scene in Ningbo Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang province. [Photo/IC]

The latest data from the Hangzhou customs office show that East China's Zhejiang province was the greatest contributor to the country's growth in foreign trade in the first 11 months of this year.

The province's foreign trade was valued at 3.06 trillion yuan ($467.8 billion) in the first 11 months, up 10.3 percent from the previous year.

Its exports and imports during this period grew by 9.6 percent and 12.7 percent year-on-year to 2.27 trillion yuan and 785.73 billion yuan, respectively.

Zhejiang alone raised national foreign trade, exports, and imports by 1 percent, 1.3 percent, and 0.7 percent, respectively, more than any other province in China.

According to a statistics department official from the Hangzhou customs office, Zhejiang's foreign trade has been consistently growing at a rapid pace throughout the second half of this year. The province's foreign trade and exports were valued at 318.39 billion yuan and 239.16 billion yuan in November, up 18.5 percent and 20.8 percent year-on-year, respectively.

Over the first 11 months of this year, trade between Zhejiang and the European Union, the United States, and the ASEAN shot up 9.4 percent, 19.4 percent, and 17.9 percent, respectively, and accounted for 44.5 percent of the province's total foreign trade.

In the same period, Zhejiang's imports from countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative increased 33 percent to 292.69 billion yuan.