Jilin province in Northeast China reported foreign trade of 136.28 billion yuan ($20.08 billion) in 2018, marking year-on-year growth of 8.6 percent, according to an announcement at a meeting on Jan 22.

Foreign trade has not exceeded $20 billion since 2014, and the province’s export growth was 1.7 percent higher than the national average, making a strong contribution to Jilin’s economic growth.