Foreign trade in economically-developed Jiangsu Province in eastern China totaled 174.29 billion U.S. dollars in the first five months of the year, a 50 percent year-on-year increase.

Exports amounted to 98.71 billion U.S. dollars, up 42.7 percent, while exports totaled 75.58 billion dollars, up 61 percent.

The province accounted for 15.8 percent of China's total foreign trade in the five-month period, up 0.6 percentage points.

The province's trade with the European Union reached 32.06 billion U.S. dollars in the January to May period, up 47.9 percent.