Taiwan's exports surge in 2017 on recovering global economy

TAIPEI, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan's exports in 2017 totaled 317.39 billion U.S. dollars, up 13.2 percent from a year earlier, and imports rose 12.6 percent year on year, both registering the highest growth rate in seven years.

Taiwan's trade surplus reached 57.88 billion dollars in 2017, up 8.13 billion dollars from 2016, the island's finance authority said Monday.

Exports in sectors such as electronic components, basic metals, machinery, communication and audio-visual devices, plastic and rubber products recorded strong growth in 2017.

The island's exports of electronic components set a record high of 107.2 billion dollars in 2017, up 15.5 percent from 2016.

Taiwan's exports in December 2017 rose 29.51 billion dollars, up 14.8 percent from a year earlier, the 15th consecutive monthly increase on the back of a strong economic recovery worldwide.

The Chinese mainland and Hong Kong remain Taiwan's largest trade partners, together importing 130.28 billion dollars from Taiwan, up 16 percent from 2016. Enditem