Tianjin Customs officers board a ship to examine imported products on Tuesday． ［Photo provided to chinadaily．com．cn］

Import and export volumes for Tianjin reached a historical high last year， rocketing 21 percent to 2．01 trillion yuan （＄298 billion）— the first time it has exceeded the 2 trillion yuan level— according to local customs authorities．

Exports surged by 28 percent to 1．06 trillion yuan， while imports were recorded at 950 billion yuan， an increase of 14．2 percent．

Trade with Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership （RCEP） members and Belt and Road economies rose significantly， said Liu Xintong， deputy head of Tianjin Customs．

About 33．4 percent of the import and export activity was attributed to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative， at 670．8 billion yuan， an increase of 41．2 percent．

Total imports and exports to RCEP members was valued at 642．17 billion yuan， an increase of 20．4 percent． This accounted for 31．9 percent of Tianjin＇s total imports and exports in the period．

Exports of mechanical， electrical and steel products saw robust growth， while imports of automobiles and agricultural products also increased substantially， Liu said．

Countries in the European Union， Association of Southeast Asian Nations， the United States and Japan are major trade partners with Tianjin．