HAIKOU — South China's Hainan province has seen a 31.8 percent growth in foreign trade thanks to the two-year construction of the Hainan pilot free trade zone, local customs said on April 24.

The imports and exports of the province reached 183.86 billion yuan (about $25.96 billion) from April 2018 to March this year, according to the customs in Haikou, capital of the province.

The exports totaled 68.01 billion yuan during the period, up 51.3 percent compared with the same period in previous years, and the imports increased 22.5 percent to 115.85 billion yuan.

The province's foreign trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) increased 60.2 percent to 51.26 billion yuan during the period, making it the largest trading partner of Hainan.

Refined oil and duty-free products are major commodities leading Hainan's growth in imports and exports. In the past two years, the province's exports of refined oil increased 1.2 times to 32.41 billion yuan, and its imports of duty-free products grew 95.4 percent to 20.97 billion yuan.

China aims to build Hainan into a high-quality pilot free trade zone by 2020 and a free trade port with Chinese characteristics by 2035.