SHENZHEN, April 19 -- The southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen saw its foreign trade grow 28.8 percent year on year to 1.02 trillion yuan (about 140.8 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of this year, exceeding the 1-trillion-yuan mark for the first time in a decade, local authorities said.

During this period, Shenzhen's exports grew 28.2 percent year on year to 642.44 billion yuan, and the city's imports reached 377.85 billion yuan, up 29.9 percent year on year, according to Shenzhen Customs in south China's Guangdong Province.

In the first quarter, the foreign trade of Shenzhen's private enterprises reached 720.96 billion yuan, up 45.2 percent year on year, accounting for 70.7 percent of the city's total trade volume.

Shenzhen's trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), its largest trading partner, hit 165.64 billion yuan, up 38.4 percent, accounting for 16.2 percent of the city's total trade volume.