SHIJIAZHUANG - Northern China's Hebei province's trade with the EU totaled 35.18 billion yuan ($5.10 billion) in the first ten months of the year, up 2.2 percent year on year, according to Shijiazhuang Customs.

From January to October, Hebei's exports to the EU were valued at 23.82 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.3 percent, while its imports from the EU reached 11.36 billion yuan, up 1.9 percent year on year.

In October alone, Hebei's exports to the EU reached 2.26 billion yuan and imports reached 1.11 billion yuan, year-on-year increases of 2.8 and 19.5 percent, respectively.

Hebei's exports of steel and photovoltaic products to the EU declined, while imports of high value-added or high-tech products, including electronics and photoelectronics products, increased rapidly, the customs said.

Experts attribute the growth in bilateral trade to a steady rebound of the EU economy and rising demand for Chinese manufacturing, adding that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiatives has fostered new sources of growth for trade between both sides.

The EU has been China's largest trading partner for more than a decade, while China is one of the biggest sources of imports for the EU. Bilateral trade amounted to $3.51 trillion in 2015.