BEIJING, Feb. 11 -- China's chemical industry saw a strong expansion in terms of investment and exports in 2022, official data shows.

Last year, the investment in chemical raw materials and product manufacturing jumped 19 percent year on year, 7.4 percentage points higher than the average level of all industries, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The sector reported continuous improvements in trade structure in the period. Exports of organic chemicals reached 80.7 billion U.S. dollars, up 17 percent year on year, and the trade surplus soared 216 percent from 2021, data from the General Administration of Customs shows.

Exports of inorganic chemicals surged 68 percent from 2021 to 39.4 billion dollars, with the trade surplus up 57 percent year on year.

The data also shows that exports of synthetic resin rose 4 percent year on year, narrowing the trade deficit by 22 percent from 2021.