Guangdong showed steady import growth this year that pushed the province's overall trade to new heights heading into December, according to data released by Guangdong Customs on Wednesday.

From January to November, the province bought 1.17 trillion yuan ($165.7 billion) worth of integrated circuits, an increase of 15.6 percent that made up more than a third of its total import volume. Guangdong's spending on computers and related components reached 313.51 billion yuan, up 20.3 percent, while semiconductor manufacturing equipment surged even higher, increasing 43.8 percent to 67.18 billion yuan.

Driven by domestic consumer demand, Guangdong's imports of consumer goods also saw solid momentum. Imports of grain grew 18.6 percent, dairy products 19.7 percent, aquatic products 31.5 percent, and edible oil 55.1 percent.

Thanks to those gains, Guangdong recorded 8.61 trillion yuan in total foreign trade in the first eleven months of the year, up 4.2 percent year-on-year — a new high for the period, outpacing the national growth rate of 3.6 percent. The province accounted for 20.9 percent of China's total trade and contributed nearly a quarter of the nation's growth.

Exports rose 2.1 percent to 5.5 trillion yuan, while imports expanded at a faster clip, reaching 3.11 trillion yuan with an eight percent increase. In November alone, Guangdong delivered 813.24 billion yuan in trade, an 8.9 percent jump that beat October's pace and outperformed national figures, as well as major trading peers Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

ASEAN, Hong Kong, and the European Union remained Guangdong's largest partners, each exceeding one trillion yuan in trade. Activity in emerging markets stood out too, with shipments to the Middle East, Africa, and the five Central Asian countries growing by 7.8 percent, 10.4 percent, and 26 percent, respectively. Trade volume with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 3.32 trillion yuan, a 4.9 percent rise that accounted for 38.5 percent of the province's total.