East China's economic powerhouse Jiangsu Province saw its foreign trade surge to a record-high 5.21 trillion yuan (about 821 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021, up 17.1 percent year on year, customs data showed Wednesday.

The number accounted for 13.3 percent of China's total imports and exports value during the period.

Jiangsu's exports increased 18.6 percent year on year to 3.25 trillion yuan in 2021, while imports grew to 1.96 trillion yuan, up 14.8 percent from a year ago.

The European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States, the Republic of Korea and Japan were Jiangsu's major trading partners in 2021 and the province's trade value with countries and regions along the Belt and Road reached 1.32 trillion yuan, an increase of 22 percent from the previous year.