Central China's Hunan Province on Wednesday reported a robust 22.6-percent increase of foreign trade in 2021 to nearly 600 billion yuan (about 94.5 billion U.S. dollars).

In recent years, the scale of Hunan's foreign trade has been increasing year by year, with an average annual growth rate of 25.2 percent, ranking first in China, according to a press conference held by the customs of Changsha, capital of the province.

Statistics from the Changsha Customs showed that Hunan's exports grew 27.5 percent year on year to about 421.3 billion yuan last year. Its imports rose 12.3 percent to nearly 177.6 billion yuan.

The three major foreign trade partners for Hunan in 2021 were the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United States, and the European Union (EU), with the trade value recording 97.7 billion yuan, 81.6 billion yuan and 61.8 billion yuan, respectively.

Meanwhile, Hunan's imports and exports to Latin America, Africa, RCEP members and countries along the Belt and Road had maintained a rapid growth trend.

In 2021, Hunan exported mechanical and electrical products worth 183.8 billion yuan, an increase of 23.1 percent, accounting for 43.6 percent of the province's total foreign trade value.

In terms of imports, the import of upstream manufacturing equipment required by Hunan's manufacturing industry, especially the integrated circuit industry, increased significantly. In addition, its agricultural imports reached about 28.6 billion yuan, up 14.3 percent.  

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