China's Shandong sees foreign trade up 18.2 pct in Jan.-Aug.

JINAN, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- East China's Shandong Province saw its foreign trade reach 2.18 trillion yuan (about 315 billion U.S. dollars) in the first eight months of this year, up 18.2 percent year on year, local customs said.

In August, the province's imports and exports rose 15.2 percent from the same period last year to 292.08 billion yuan. Of the total, exports grew 16.6 percent to 181.18 billion yuan while imports rose 13.1 percent to 110.9 billion yuan during this month.

The province's general trade maintained a stable rise. Mechanical and electrical products, labor-intensive products and agricultural items all maintained relatively rapid growth during the period, according to the customs.