In 2001 China's high technology exports grew 25.4 percent to US$46.46 billion, sources with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) said Friday in Beijing.

According to MOFTEC, in 2001 China's high-tech products trade volume reached US$110.57 billion, accounting for 21.7 percent of the country's foreign trade total. Its high-tech trade volume increased US$9.4 billion, or 55.5 percent of the total export growth of US$16.95 billion.

MOFTEC 2001 statistics show that China's high-tech exports accounted for 17.5 percent of the total export volume, 2.5 percentage points higher than last year.

Official 2001 figures show that China's mainland exported about 70 percent of its high-tech products to Hong Kong, the United States, the European Union, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore.

Statistics also show that about 87 percent of China's high-tech exports were from the coastal areas of China, including Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Tianjin, as well as Beijing.

About 90 percent of China's high-tech exports were electronic and computer and telecommunications-related products, according to MOFTEC sources.

(Xinhua News Agency January 11, 2002)