East China's Shandong province saw its foreign trade surge by 42.2 percent year-on-year to 1.34 trillion yuan ($206.89 billion) in the first half of this year, local authorities said on July 21.

A US cargo ship docks at Qingdao Port, Shandong province. [Photo by Yu Shaoyue/For China Daily]

In the first six months of this year, the province's exports reached 758.15 billion yuan, up 43.8 percent year-on-year and up 43.9 percent over the same period in 2019, while its imports reached 581.71 billion yuan, up 40 percent year-on-year and 29.2 percent higher than the same period in 2019.

In June, the province's foreign trade totaled 263.05 billion yuan, up 54 percent year-on-year, hitting a record high and achieving year-on-year growth for 12 consecutive months

According to official statistics, in the first half of the year, the imports and exports of private enterprises in Shandong reached 933.45 billion yuan, up 44.9 percent year-on-year and accounting for 69.7 percent of the province's total.

During the same period, the imports and exports of foreign-invested enterprises reached 286.32 billion yuan, up 34.8 percent, while the imports and exports of State-owned enterprises hit 118.12 billion yuan, up 39.8 percent year-on-year.

The export of mechanical and electrical products in Shandong reached 330.84 billion yuan, up 54.5 percent and accounting for 43.6 percent of the province's total export value.

The province saw its foreign trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative rise 45.5 percent year-on-year to 423.48 billion yuan in the first half the year.