SHIJIAZHUANG, March 19 -- Hebei Province in north China posted steady foreign trade growth in the first two months of 2024, according to local customs.

Hebei's total imports and exports grew 14.7 percent year on year to 97 billion yuan (about 13.66 billion U.S. dollars) in the period, said Shijiazhuang Customs.

In breakdown, exports hit 54.19 billion yuan, marking a 20.7 percent increase from the same period last year, while imports edged up 7.9 percent to 42.81 billion yuan.

The province's trade with Australia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union and Brazil saw rapid growth, reaching 16.25 billion yuan, 12.47 billion yuan, 12.18 billion yuan and 5.98 billion yuan, respectively.

In the first two months, the province's trade with Belt and Road partner countries rose 10.1 percent year on year to 45.84 billion yuan.

Hebei's exports of mechanical and electrical products registered a 38.7 percent growth to 27.39 billion yuan, accounting for 50.5 percent of the total exports. Its exports of automobiles surged by 1.3 times to 9.38 billion yuan, and its exports of car parts jumped by 8.9 percent to 3.35 billion yuan.

The province also saw an increase in imports of iron ore and concentrates, natural gas, aluminum ore and concentrates.