China-EU trade volume up 23% in Jan-Sept

The bilateral trade volume between China and the European Union amounted to 157.79 billion US dollars in the first three quarters, up 23.3 percent over the same period last year, statistics from the General Administration of Customs showed.

The EU remains China''s biggest trade parter. The United States ranks the second place, with Sino-US trade volume reaching 153.54 billion US dollars during the period, a rise of 25.6 percent.

Japan remains China''s third biggest trade partner with a trade volume of 134.55 billion US dollars, an increase of 10.5 percent.

The trade volumes of Hong Kong and the Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA) with the Chinese mainland came to 94.69 billion US dollars and 94.54 billion US dollars, respectively, in the first nine months of the year.

Customs statistics also revealed that Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces and Shanghai municipality ranked the top three among allregions in the country in terms of import and export value during the period.

Guangdong''s import and export volume came to 300.84 billion US dollars, a rise of 18.6 percent over the same period of last year, while that of Jiangsu and Shanghai stand at 165.12 billion US dollars and 136.43 billion US dollars, respectively, up 36.1 percent and 15.8 percent.

Cntex