Citing the latest statistics gathered by Beijing Customs, the spokesman said that though the total value of export and import from January to September was US$9.94 billion, a slight year-on-year drop of 2.3 percent, the export volume amounted to US$4.06 billion, a year-on-year rise of 11.4 percent.

He attributed the growth to the increasing export volume from foreign-invested companies in Beijing, the source of nearly two-thirds of the exports in the last nine months.

Asia, still the major market for Beijing, was the destination of more than one half of the export volume. Japan and the United States are listed as Beijing's top two trading partners and exports to the United States registered an increase of 35.3 percent over the same period last year, said the spokesman.

Africa has become an increasingly important export market for the capital city. The last three quarters saw a total export volume of US$110 million to African countries, twice the volume in the same period last year.

Another growth for the city, foreign direct investment in Beijing scored US$2.027 billion so far, rising 10.5 percent year-on-year, said the spokesman, adding that Beijing had approved nearly 18,000 foreign-invested enterprises by the end of September.

He predicted that high-tech, service and urban infrastructure construction industries would continue to be major sectors for Beijing to open to foreign investment.

(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2002)