South China's Guangdong Province saw its foreign trade total 1.83 trillion yuan (about 280.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2021, up 33.4 percent year on year, customs authorities said.

(Photo / Nanfang Daily)

Guangdong, a manufacturing heartland and leading foreign trade player in China, reported its export value grew 41.6 percent to 1.12 trillion yuan while the import value increased 22.2 percent to about 700 billion yuan, according to the Guangdong sub-administration of General Administration of Customs.

Both its export value and total foreign trade value reached record highs in the period, suggesting robust growth and strong recovery after the COVID-19 outbreak.

In the first quarter of this year, foreign trade contributed by the province's private enterprises notched up around 1.04 trillion yuan, up 39.3 percent, showing the sector's ever-increasing vitality.