BEIJING — Bilateral trade between China and the European Union (EU) saw a rapid growth in the first half of this year, demonstrating vitality and resilience in their trade cooperation, a customs spokesperson said on July 13.

China-EU trade jumped 26.7 percent from a year ago to 2.52 trillion yuan ($389 billion) in the first half, making the EU the second-largest trade partner of China during the period, data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed.

Around 16.6 percent of China's mechanical and electrical exports were shipped to the EU while more than one-third of the consumer goods imported into China were from the EU, said GAC spokesperson Li Kuiwen.

"China and the EU are important economic and trade partners with strong economic complementarity and great potential for cooperation," Li said.

Strengthening economic and trade exchanges between China and the EU is conducive to enhancing the well-being of the people on both sides, coping with global challenges and promoting the recovery of the world economy, Li added.

The data showed that China's total imports and exports expanded 27.1 percent year-on-year to 18.07 trillion yuan in the first half of 2021, marking an increase of 22.8 percent from the pre-epidemic level in 2019.