This aerial photo taken on July 19, 2023 shows a ship berthing at a cargo terminal of Tangshan Port in Tangshan, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region saw its foreign trade increase by 2.1 percent year on year to about 3.28 trillion yuan (about 457.28 billion U.S. dollars) in the first eight months of this year, according to Shijiazhuang Customs.

The region's foreign trade accounted for 12.1 percent of the country's total in this period.

From January to August, the region's imports reached about 2.43 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.3 percent, while its exports amounted to nearly 856.17 billion yuan, up 4.2 percent year on year.

The region's trade with the European Union (EU), the United States, Australia, and Brazil increased in the first eight months of the year, up by 0.4 percent, 1.4 percent, 12.3 percent, and 33.9 percent, respectively.

During the period, mechanical and electrical products accounted for over half of the region's total export value. Meanwhile, exports of refined oil products saw continuous and significant growth, up 47.5 percent year on year.

In terms of imported commodities, crude oil imports secured first place in the first eight months of 2023, while high-tech products imports and agricultural products imports grew rapidly during the period.