by Zhao Xinhua

Chinas textile and apparel exports grew 9.6 percent year-on-year to USD 291.22 billion in 2020， official data showed. In breakdown， textile exports surged 29.2 percent from a year earlier to reach USD 153.84 billion. Apparel exports shrank 6.4 percent to USD 137.38 billion， according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

In December alone， the countrys textile exports expanded 12.6 percent year-on-year to USD 12.29 billion. Apparel exports in December increased 2.8 percent year-onyear to USD 13.91 billion. Meanwhile， Guangdong Province is targeting economic growth of more than 6 percent this year， Governor Ma Xingrui said on January 24.

The province recorded 2.3-percent GDP growth in 2020 to exceed 11 trillion yuan （USD 1.7 trillion）， Ma said while delivering a government work report at the annual session of the Provincial Peoples Congress. Its GDP volume has continued to lead Chinas provincial-level regions， Ma added. Guangdong， a manufacturing heartland and leading foreign trade player in the country， has been successful in resuming production and business after the COVID-19 outbreak， according to the report.

Meanwhile， the provinces total imports and exports of goods shrank by 0.9 percent year-on-year in 2020 to 7.08 trillion yuan， according to the provincial statistics bureau. In breakdown， exports edged up 0.2 percent while imports dropped by 2.6 percent， the bureau said in a report delivered to the Provincial Peoples Congress. Chinas national GDP increased 2.3 percent year-on-year last year， likely the only major economy to post growth in the pandemic-ravaged year.