Exports from northern China's Hebei province to BRICS partner countries grew by 10.6 percent year-on-year in the first eight months of this year, reaching 25.48 billion yuan ($3.58 billion), according to figures from Shijiazhuang Customs as reported by Hebei Daily.

The report added that the shipments accounted for 10.2 percent of Hebei's total export value during the same period, while manufactured goods made up almost all of the trade, totaling 24.97 billion yuan, around 98 percent of exports to BRICS partner countries.

There were particularly sharp increases in exports of some technology-intensive products. Sales of lithium-ion batteries jumped 18.7 times compared with a year earlier, while motor vehicle exports rose by a figure of 1.9.

According to the report, Hebei's own-brand products performed strongly, surpassing 8 billion yuan in exports for the first time, a sign of the province's progress in building competitive and independent brands.

A local customs official was quoted as saying that regional trade cooperation between Hebei and BRICS partner countries has continued to improve in areas such as infrastructure, industrial manufacturing and technology.