East China's Fujian province establishes the China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone for high-level reform and opening-up. [Photo/china-fjftz.gov.cn]

East China's Fujian province recorded 1.3 trillion yuan ($1,874 billion) in imports and exports trade in 2019, growing by 7.8 percent year-on-year, and ranking seventh in the country, local customs authorities said Jan 20.

Statistics showed that Fujian's exports totaled 827.8 billion yuan, up 8.7 percent, and imports increased by 6.3 percent to 503 billion yuan.

Private enterprises are still playing a leading role in Fujian's foreign trade growth. Their imports and exports increased by 13.1 percent year-on-year to 646.2 billion yuan last year, accounting for 48.6 percent of the province's total amount.

Foreign-funded firms posted a total foreign trade volume of 427.4 billion yuan, down 4.7 percent year-on-year, and that of State-owned enterprises grew by 17.4 percent to 252.2 billion yuan.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was Fujian's largest trade partner last year, followed by the European Union and the Unites States.

The province saw robust growth in its foreign trade with ASEAN countries and regions last year, with the trade volume rising by 17.5 percent year-on-year to 248.6 billion yuan.

Fujian also reported growth in trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with the total value growing by 16.3 percent to 455 billion yuan.

Fujian further optimized its trade structure, with labor-intensive products, and mechanical and electrical products as its main exports last year, accounting for more than 70 percent of its total export amount, and its exports of shoes and clothing saw an increase of 13.6 percent and 9.4 percent, while the province exported mechanical and electrical products worth 301.4 billion yuan, up 8.2 percent year-on-year.

Its imports of energy products achieved prominent increases. Among them, imports of iron ore and crude oil rose 76.9 percent and 41.7 percent, while imports of soybeans and paper pulp saw decreases of 11.3 percent and 18.7 percent.