Despite a sluggish world market, foreign trade in Zhanjiang, a port city in Guangdong province, grew 17.3 percent annually to hit $5.513 billion last year.

For decades, Zhanjiang has consistently maintained the second-highest rate of trade growth of all cities in Guangdong province, China's top gateway for foreign trade, according to statistics released by Zhanjiang city bureau of foreign trade and economic cooperation.

Zhanjiang exported $2.62 billion worth of products last year, an annual increase of 18.7 percent, while the city's import volume grew at an annual rate of 16 percent to $2.89 billion.