BEIJING, July 19 -- Beijing, China's capital city, saw its foreign trade volume hit a record high of 1.83 trillion yuan (about 256.61 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2024, data from the local customs bureau showed on Friday.

Beijing's import and export volume increased 3.6 percent year on year in the period, and accounted for 8.7 percent of China's total, according to Beijing Customs.

In the first six months, emerging industries became important contributors to export growth in Beijing, accounting for 27.8 percent of the city's total export volume.

Among these emerging industries, the lithium-ion battery and mobile phone sectors reported respective export increases of 92.3 percent and 57.8 percent.

From January to June, the total export value of Beijing's local-brand products reached 113.48 billion yuan, growing at a rate of 17.9 percent.