An employee inspects imported cars at Ningbo Zhoushan port in Zhejiang province in May. [Photo by Zhang Yongtao/For China Daily]

East China's Zhejiang province saw total foreign trade of 1.81 trillion yuan ($264.3 billion) over the first seven months of this year, up 5.7 percent year-on-year, according to the Hangzhou customs office.

The province's exports in the period saw a 4.4-percent year-on-year increase to 1.34 trillion yuan. The growth rates for both trade volume and exports were higher than the national average. In particular, the province has one of the highest growth rates in exports among all coastal provinces and municipalities in China.

Since March, Zhejiang has been posting double-digit growth in both exports and imports.

"The growth of foreign trade is attributable to the recovery of Zhejiang's trade with Europe and North America as well as the province's soaring trade with emerging markets," an official from the Hangzhou customs office explained. Between January and July, Zhejiang's exports to the European Union and the United States rose by 6.4 percent and 7 percent respectively from the previous year; Zhejiang also saw double-digit year-on-year growth in both imports from and exports to the ASEAN and South Korea.

However, Zhejiang's exports to some economies hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic are shrinking. The province's exports to Latin America and Africa decreased by 8.2 percent and 0.3 percent respectively between January and July. The corresponding decline rates in exports to India and Brazil were as high as 27.7 percent and 19.8 percent respectively.