The European Union (EU) continues to be the largest trading partner of China in the first nine months, said the General Administration of Customs on Thursday.

The United States, Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held their positions in China's trading partners chart as the second, third and fourth largest partners respectively, according to statistics released by the Customs.

Two-way trade between China and the EU reached US$194.44 billion, up 23.3 percent from the same period of last year.

Trade volume between China and the United States rose 24.8 percent to US$191.51 billion in the first nine months, Sino-Japan trade, up 12.3 percent to US$150.97 billion and the trade between China and the ASEAN, up 23.1 percent to US$116.33 billion.

Bilateral trade volume between Chinese mainland and Hong Kong hit US$116.75 billion with a year-on-year growth of 23.3 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2006)