Officials from Jiaxing Customs inspect goods at a workshop in Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: jxfabu]

Imports and exports of Jiaxing in East China's Zhejiang province expanded 5.9 percent year-on-year to 104.53 billion yuan ($15.1 billion) in the first quarter of this year, according to Jiaxing Customs.

The export value was 79.97 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.6 percent.

Customs data shows that mechanical and electrical products and high-tech products were the main drivers of the city's export growth in the first quarter. Their export value was 42.52 billion yuan and 17.62 billion yuan respectively, up 15.6 percent and 15.2 percent year-on-year.

In the first quarter, the European Union, the United States, and ASEAN were the city's top three export markets. Exports to these economies amounted to 16.15 billion yuan, 13.16 billion yuan and 12.19 billion yuan respectively.

The city exported 20.78 billion yuan of goods to RCEP member countries during this period, an increase of 27.4 percent, accounting for 26 percent of the city's total export value. Exports to Indonesia doubled while exports to Thailand increased by 82.2 percent.

In the first quarter, Jiaxing Customs issued 3,219 certificates of origin under the RCEP, up 65.3 percent year-on-year, with a total value of 980 million yuan, up 66.1 percent year-on-year. The certificates resulted in 14.37 million yuan in import and export concessions for companies.