In the first quarter of this year, the total value of imports and exports in East China's Zhejiang province rose by 24.4 percent year-on-year, reaching 1.08 trillion yuan ($168.41 billion), figures from the Hangzhou Customs show.

In the first three months, Zhejiang's total export value stood at 787.19 billion yuan, an increase of 28.3 percent year-on-year, while the total import value stood at 288.96 billion yuan, an increase of 14.8 percent year-on-year.

The province's foreign trade and export were the primary contributors to the growth of nation's foreign trade and export, standing at 23.2 percent and 28.1 percent respectively. Imports contributed to 12.8 percent of the nation's import growth, the fourth highest in China.

The export value of seven categories of commodities in labor-intensive industries saw double-digit growth, exceeding that of the same period in 2019. Exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 353.26 billion yuan, expanding 24.5 percent year-on-year and accounting for 44.9 percent of Zhejiang's total export value.

Specifically, exports of solar cells had doubled compared to the previous year to 20.59 billion yuan.

In addition, the import and export of technologically advanced small and medium-sized enterprises in Zhejiang reached 16.56 billion yuan, a 90.2 percent year-on-year growth.