The foreign trade volume of Guangdong Province, south China's economic powerhouse, reached a record high of 4.37 trillion yuan (about 612.75 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2024, official data has shown.

The figure represents year-on-year growth of 13.8 percent, 7.7 percentage points higher than the national average, according to the Guangdong Sub-Administration of the General Administration of Customs of China.

Of the total, exports rose 12.1 percent year on year to 2.85 trillion yuan, and imports reached 1.52 trillion yuan, up 17.1 percent year on year.

In the first half, Guangdong's exports of mechanical and electrical products increased 9.9 percent, accounting for 64.4 percent of the province's total export value.

In the same period, Guangdong's trade with Belt and Road Initiative partner countries totaled 1.64 trillion yuan, up 12 percent year on year.