NANJING -- East China's Jiangsu province reported a decline in the foreign trade volume in the first quarter (Q1) of this year and saw the European Union (EU) becoming its largest trading partner during the period.

Nanjing Customs said Wednesday that the foreign trade volume of Jiangsu fell by 9.5 percent to 900.84 billion yuan (about $127 billion) from January to March, with its exports totaled 525.96 billion yuan, down 14.9 percent year-on-year, and its imports fell by 0.5 percent to 374.88 billion yuan.

Jiangsu's trade with the EU dipped 15 percent year-on-year to 132.6 billion yuan while the EU remained its biggest trade partner. Imports and exports to countries along the Belt and Road accounted for 25.8 percent of the province's total foreign trade, reaching 232.26 billion yuan.

The exports of mechanical and electrical products in Q1 reached 347.25 billion yuan, among which the export of integrated circuit reached 39.94 billion yuan, up 5.1 percent year-on-year.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the China-Europe freight trains have played a key role in stabilizing the province's foreign trade. Jiangsu saw 287 China-Europe freight trains loading 22,300 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) departed over the past three months. The value of transported goods reached 2.45 billion yuan, up 44.1 percent year-on-year.