In the first quarter of this year, Shandong province's trade with members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) totaled 257.26 billion yuan ($39.26 billion), up 20.9 percent from the same period last year, according to statistics from Jinan customs.

Cargo is loaded and unloaded at the Qianwan container terminal in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, on Jan 14. [Photo by Yu Fangping/For China Daily]

The figure accounted for 36.2 percent of the province's total foreign trade value, up 2.2 percentage points year-on-year.

During the period, exports from Shandong to RCEP members increased 23.5 percent to 147.62 billion yuan while imports rose 17.6 percent to 109.64 billion yuan, according to Jinan customs.

From January to March, Shandong's exports of clothing, and fabric and its related products to RCEP members increased by 22.3 percent and 19.4 percent respectively, 10.9 and 5.2 percentage points higher than the provincial exports of similar products.

Mechanical and electrical products, metal ore and crude oil are the main commodities imported by Shandong from RCEP member countries.

The Republic of Korea, Japan, and Malaysia are Shandong's top three RCEP trading partners, and their trade with Shandong accounts for 61 percent of the province's total trade with all RCEP members.

A total of 24,000 certificates of origin under RCEP were also issued by authorities in the province during this period.

The economies of China and RCEP members are highly complementary in that they all have broad areas of cooperation and great potential for development. In the future, Shandong's trade with RCEP members will continue to maintain a sound momentum of growth, Shandong officials said.