Xiamen topped in foreign trade cities in Fujian province and ranked seventh among China's top 100 foreign trade cities, according to a recent list released by the General Administration of Customs.

In the first half of 2017, Xiamen totaled about 282 billion yuan ($42.38 billion) in imports and exports with an increase of 16.4 percent compared with the same period of 2016, showing a great performance in foreign trade economy.

The import values increased 1.2 percent to 152.28 billion yuan while export values increased 41.1 percent to 129.81 billion yuan.

Xiamen's degree of dependence on foreign trade - the ratio of foreign trade to GDP, has reached 135 percent. Thanks to the supply-side structural reform, foreign trade enterprises in Xiamen have witnessed steady growth.

The city also showed great attraction to foreign investments, with more than 500 new foreign-invested enterprises established in the first half of 2017. The total contractual foreign investment reached 21.31 billion yuan, accounting for 38.1 percent of the whole amount in Fujian.

Xiamen's progress in attracting overseas investment has contributed to considerable growth of manufacturing industry in utilizing foreign capital.

In the first half year, the contractual foreign capital of the manufacturing industry reached 8.35 billion yuan with an increase of 3.3 times year-on-year, accounting for 39.2 percent of the municipal amount.

According to Chen Lisheng, head of Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Commerce, the city has devoted great effort to inviting investment to the key industries including modern service and high-end manufacturing, noting that high-end industries have become more attractive to foreign investors.