SHANGHAI -- Shanghai's foreign trade grew rapidly in September, boosted by robust growth in imports as China's economy further recovered from the COVID-19 epidemic.

The city achieved 335.9 billion yuan (about $50.1) worth of imports and exports last month, up 10.6 percent year-on-year and 7.5 percent month-on-month, said Shanghai Customs.

Exports totaled 124.6 billion yuan, down 0.6 percent year-on-year and up 2.2 percent month-on-month. Imports amounted to 211.4 billion yuan, up 18.5 percent year-on-year and 10.9 percent month on month.

In the three quarters ending September, the city generated foreign trade of 2.53 trillion yuan, an annual increase of 1.7 percent. Exports grew 1 percent year-on-year to 1.01 trillion yuan, while imports gained 2.1 percent to 1.52 trillion yuan.

Shanghai's imports of high-tech products grew 9.8 percent year-on-year to reach 498.4 billion yuan during the nine-month period, contributing roughly one-third of the total imports.

Meanwhile, the exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 686.1 billion yuan, up 0.4 percent year-on-year, accounting for 68.1 percent of the city's total exports.

Its foreign trade with the major trading partners of the European Union, the United States, and the ASEAN grew by 0.5 percent, 6.6 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively, in the three quarters.