A night view of Qianjiang CBD in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang [Photo/IC]

The foreign trade volume of Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province rose 3.4 percent year on year to 254.06 billion yuan ($36.91 billion) in the first half of the year, accounting for 18 percent of the province's total, Hangzhou customs said on July 24.

Statistics show that Hangzhou's exports totaled 165.12 billion yuan, up 3.5 percent year on year while imports recorded 88.94 billion yuan, up 3.3 percent.

Mechanical and electrical products and hi-tech products were major players in Hangzhou's exports, seeing a year-on-year increase of 4.8 and 10.1 percent respectively.

As a city with a thriving digital economy, Hangzhou's cross-border e-commerce industry is crucial to the city's foreign trade, reaching 5.41 billion yuan in the first half this year, among which exports increased 2.6 times to 510 million yuan, accounting for 93.1 percent of the province's total.

The city's foreign trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative also maintained rapid growth in the first six months, amounting to 79.25 billion yuan, up 6 percent year on year.

Despite the complex international economic and trade situation that has brought uncertainty to the development of Hangzhou's foreign trade, the city has stepped up international cooperation on production and helped local enterprises increase their overseas profiles by hosting industrial matchmaking events and helping them to participate in nationally influential exhibitions.