China's Heilongjiang Province trade with Russia hits $8.96 bn

China's Heilongjiang Province trade with Russia reached $8.96 billion in the first five months of this year, up 30.8% from a year earlier. Trade with Russia accounted for more than 60% of the province's total foreign trade volume in the same period, the provincial customs department said in a statement published by Chinese newspaper (People's Daily). Heilongjiang's foreign trade volume stood at $14.8 billion in the first five months, up 6.6% year on year. Trade with the Middle East stood at $940 million in the January-May period, showing more than seven-fold increase from the same period last year, according to the statement. Exports dropped 30.8% year on year to $4.46 billion, while imports increased 39% to $10.36 billion.