BEIJING, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's exports went up 6.5 percent year on year to 11.86 trillion yuan (about 1.72 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of 2018, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) data showed Friday.

The trade surplus was narrowed by 28.3 percent to 1.44 trillion yuan in the first three quarters.

Export of electric-mechanical products increased by 7.8 percent to 6.91 trillion yuan, taking up 58.3 percent of China's total export value, said Li Kuiwen, the GAC spokesperson.

China has taken measures to readjust its export structure, with exports of automobiles and machine tools expanding 16.3 percent and 18.7 percent, respectively.

The country has made great achievement in the green development of foreign trade, reducing the exports of energy-intensive, high-polluting and resource-intensive products by 7.6 percent, Li said.

China witnessed a higher level of opening up, as companies moved to diversify their export market and seek more trading partners, Li added.

Trade between China and other Belt and Road countries grew 3.3 percentage points faster than the growth rate of China's overall foreign trade.

Trade with Africa and Latin America grew at a rate 3.9 percentage points and 3.8 percentage points higher, respectively, than overall trade growth, he added.