SHENZHEN, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Shenzhen Port, one of China's busiest ports, exported 7.85 billion U.S. dollar worth of goods to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the first half of this year, up 10.8 percent year on year despite the global economic downturn, according to Shenzhen Customs House Saturday.

    General trade with the ASEAN export hit 4.58 billion U.S. dollars in the first six months, rising 22.3 percent over last year's same period, while the processing trade declined 3.8 percent year on year, according to data from Shenzhen Customs.

    Exports of mechanical and electrical products, which account for 62.5 percent of the city's total export to ASEAN by value, increased 0.8 percent to 4.91 billion U.S. dollars in the first half.

    Mechanical equipment exports reached 1.77 billion U.S. dollars, rising 32 percent over the same period of last year.

    Trade between ASEAN and China rose by 14 percent to 231.12 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, which made ASEAN China's fourth largest trade partner after the European Union, the United State and Japan.

    China and ASEAN launched their cooperation dialogue in 1991 and signed the China-ASEAN Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation in 2002.