This is Hainan

HAIKOU, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The foreign trade of South China's Hainan Province totaled 66.93 billion yuan (9.46 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of the year, up 27.7 percent year on year, according to the Haikou Customs on Thursday.

In the first three quarters, Hainan's trade with Belt and Road countries hit 25.45 billion yuan, up 14.6 percent year on year, accounting for 38 percent of its total foreign trade.

Meanwhile, the province's trade with its traditional trade partners such as the U.S., EU and Japan continued to rise during the same period. Its trade with the U.S. reached 12.7 billion yuan, up 45.1 percent. Its trade with the EU and Japan hit 9.56 billion yuan, up 7.6 percent and 2.39 billion yuan, up 90 percent, respectively.

Foreign-invested enterprises are the main forces behind Hainan's foreign trade. In the first three quarters of the year, foreign-funded enterprises in Hainan Province imported and exported 39.1 billion yuan, up 14.8 percent, accounting for 58.4 percent of the total.

The oil and gas industry has played a leading role in Hainan's export industry. The export of refined oil reached 12.4 billion yuan in the first three quarters, up 77 percent, accounting for 51.3 percent of the total export value of Hainan Province in the same period. Natural gas exports reached 590 million yuan, up 27.3 percent.

Consumer goods have replaced aircraft as Hainan's top import. In the first three quarters of the year, Hainan's imports of consumer goods increased by 43.9 percent to 9.78 billion yuan, accounting for 22.9 percent of the total value of Hainan's imports in the same period.

Hainan was granted approval in April 2018 to build a pilot free trade zone covering the whole island and explore the establishment of a free trade port with Chinese characteristics.