China's trade in high-tech products rose to about US$94.9 billion in the first six months, up 50.67 percent over the corresponding period last year and 11 percentage points higher than total trade growth, the Ministry of Commerce said Friday.

Statistics from Chinese Customs showed imports hit US$50.95 billion while exports were US$43.93 billion, increasing by 47.8 percent and 54.8 percent year-on-year respectively.

Automatic data processing equipment parts and portable computers were the top two export high-tech commodities.

Integrated circuits and micro-electronic items were the top import goods, figures show, with a total import volume of US$16.1 billion and a 56.92 percent year-on-year growth.

Japan, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and the Taiwan region were the main sources of imports while Hong Kong, the United States and the European Union were the main export markets of high-tech products.

Solely-foreign-funded enterprises and private companies saw 230 percent and 292 percent year-on-year growth respectively.

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2003)