China's foreign trade hit 606 billion US dollars in the first nine months, up 36.2 percent year- on-year.

Statistics from Chinese Customs issued Wednesday show imports in the first nine months surged by 40.5 percent to 298.56 billion US dollars, exceeding the imports of last year.

Exports, one of the three economic generators, were 307.7 billion US dollars, up 32.3 percent year-on-year.

Exports, investment and consumption were regarded as the three driving forces of the national economy, which grew by about 8 percent in the first half of 2003 and the government said it would reach an 8 percent annual growth goal this year.

Foreign-funded enterprises in China played an important role in promoting China's trade. Exports and imports from those companies accounted for about half of the total.

Chinese private enterprises also witnessed strong trade growth. Trade volume of those enterprises hit 67.85 billion US dollars, up 84.3 percent year-on-year.

The government has vowed to encourage the development of private companies, especially in labor-intensive industries, to increase employment and stimulate growth.

Trade between China and its major trade partners also increased markedly.

In the first nine months, China-Japan trade hit 95.97 billion US dollars, up 31.7 percent year-on-year; China-US trade, 90.98 billion US dollars, up 29.9 percent; and China-EU trade, 89.06 billion US dollars, up 41.5 percent.

The main export commodity was machinery, which accounted for half of the total export volume.

Imports of primary products, such as steel, crude oil and refined oil, rose.

China imported 28.2 million tons of steel, an year-on-year increase of 48.7 percent, and 130,000 automobiles, up 41.6 percent in the first nine months.

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