Beijing city sees growing trade in January

BEIJING, Feb. 25 . Beijing Customs said the city registered trade volume of 239.7 billion yuan (35.6 billion U.S. dollars) in January, up 10.8 percent year on year and 4.4 percent month on month.

According to the statistics, Beijing’s imports reached 197.1 billion yuan, up 10 percent compared with the same month last year, while exports stood at 42.6 billion yuan, an increase of 14.7 percent year on year but a decline of 9.8 percent compared with December.

The city’s exports of oil, cellphones and steel products grew rapidly, while its imports of natural gas, agricultural products and medicine showed an obvious increase.

The European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia were the top three trade partners of Beijing, the authorities said. China recorded an increase of 8.7 percent in foreign trade in January. Enditem