The foreign trade volume in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, totaled 85.51 billion yuan ($13.19 billion), up 27.2 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year.

The city's imports increased by 3.2 percent to 34.08 billion yuan, while its exports rose by 50.3 percent to 51.43 billion yuan. Its total imports and exports stood at the sixth place in Shandong, accounting for 6.4 percent of the province's total.

General trade continued to dominate the city's foreign trade during the period. The city's general trade rose by 34.9 percent to 76.76 billion yuan, accounting for 89.8 percent of the city's total.

Jinan's foreign trade with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) stood at 15.18 billion yuan, an increase of 17.8 percent year-on-year. Its imports and exports with the EU (excluding the UK) reached 9.54 billion yuan, up 15.3 percent year-on-year.

In addition, the city's foreign trade with countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative totaled 29.48 billion yuan, up 30.4 percent, and accounted for 34.5 percent of the city's total.

The "Qilu" China-Europe freight trains in the city saw 378 trips in the period, up 35.5 percent year-on-year during the period.

Jinan launched five new China-Europe freight train routes in H1, with the services so far linking around 20 countries in Europe and Central Asia.