Zhejiang Province, an economic engine and a traditional trade surplus source in east China, has continued to rank first in the nation in trade surplus for three consecutive years.

According to latest figures provided by the provincial foreign trade authorities, last year Zhejiang chalked up 85.2 billion US dollars in foreign trade, a growth of 38.8 percent over the previous year. The total included 58.2 billion US dollars in export and 27 billion US dollars in import, up 39.8 percent and 36.6 percent respectively. The trade surplus amounted to 30 billion US dollars.

The province led the nation in trade surplus for the first time in 2002, when its export value outdid the import value by 17.9 billion US dollars.

A traditional textiles exporter, Zhejiang has made progress in optimizing its export, the provincial foreign trade authorities said.

In the first 11 months in 2004, Zhejiang sold abroad 19.52 billion US dollars worth of machines and electronics, or 37.3 percent of the provincial total, up 2.9 percentage points over the year-earlier level. The proportion dwarfed the 34-percent share of textile exports, which stood at 17.81 billion US dollars worth for the 11-month period, the trade authorities said.

Zhejiang's products are exported to 221 countries and regions, the trade authorities said.