The Taiyuan Customs office, in Shanxi province, has reported that foreign trade reached a historic high in 2012, with total import and export value at $15.04 billion, a year-on-year growth of 2 percent. Of that, exports totaled $7.01 billion, an increase of 29.4 percent, while imports hit $8.03 billion, down 13.9 percent.

And, for the first time, private enterprises surpassed State-owned ones, in leading foreign trade in the province. Machinery and electronic projects and high-tech products showed strong growth among exports.

Xu Weidong, the head of Taiyuan Customs’ statistic department, said the large share of manufactured goods out of all exports shows that the province has changed its traditional resource-oriented way of doing things. In addition, the processing business is uses technical methods to add value, which has given it a higher percentage for three consecutive years, showing the more flexible trading way of the province.