Foreign trade of central China's Hunan surges 41.2 pct

　　CHANGSHA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Changsha Customs of central China's Hunan Province said Thursday that its foreign trade grew to 434.2 billion yuan (63 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019, up 41.2 percent from 2018.

　　The customs of Changsha, capital of Hunan, said this was the first time that the inland province's foreign trade exceeded 430 billion yuan, and the growth rate ranked first in the country.

　　Statistics showed Hunan's exports grew 51.9 percent last year to 307.6 billion yuan, while its imports rose 20.4 percent to 126.6 billion yuan.

　　The province saw its private enterprises play an important role in foreign trade growth last year, with the import and export of private enterprises in 2019 reaching 332.6 billion yuan, an increase of 56.6 percent.

　　Among the exports, Hunan reported remarkable growth in mechanical and electrical products, high-tech products and labor-intensive products in 2019.

　　Meanwhile, the province reported a rapid increase in high-tech products, automobiles and meat imports.