NANJING — East China's Jiangsu province, one of the country's major foreign trade hubs, saw robust foreign trade growth in the first three quarters of 2021, local customs authorities said on Oct 19.

Jiangsu's import and export volume rose by 16.5 percent year-on-year to more than 3.75 trillion yuan (about $580 billion) from January to September, according to Nanjing customs.

Exports soared to over 2.32 trillion yuan, marking an 18.2 percent increase from the same period last year, while imports reached over 1.43 trillion yuan, up 14 percent year-on-year.

In the nine months, the province's trade volume with the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United States, and the countries along the Belt and Road increased 17 percent, 19.8 percent, 13.2 percent, and 21.6 percent, respectively.

The foreign trade of Jiangsu's private enterprises saw a strong performance, with the total volume up by 28.6 percent year-on-year to 1.42 trillion yuan, the customs noted.