HARBIN — Northeast China's Heilongjiang province saw its exports grow 6.3 percent year-on-year to 20.55 billion yuan (about $3 billion) in the first seven months of this year, local customs authorities said.

The province's total foreign trade, however, declined 15.5 percent year-on-year to 91.76 billion yuan during the period with imports falling 20.2 percent to 71.21 billion yuan, according to Harbin Customs.

Heilongjiang's foreign trade with Russia dropped 21.8 percent year-on-year to 57.71 billion yuan, accounting for 62.9 percent of its total trade volume.

The Heilongjiang pilot free trade zone (FTZ) contributed 11.6 percent or 10.6 billion yuan of the total trade. A total of 491 enterprises have been registered in the FTZ since its establishment one year ago.