NANJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The European Union surpassed the United States in the first quarter of 2010 as the largest export market for Suzhou city, a trade hub in east China's Jiangsu Province, said local customs.

Suzhou sold 8.83 billion U.S. dollars worth of goods to the EU during the first quarter, up by 57.1 percent year on year, while exporting 7.98 billion U.S. dollars worth of goods to the U.S. for the same period, up by 25.2 percent year on year, said a spokesperson with Suzhou Customs.

"The EU has been Suzhou's number one export destination for years except for the second half of 2009 when it was overtaken by the U.S.," said the spokesperson.

The trade rise was due to many countries' stimulus packages which raised their global purchasing power as well as China's policy incentives, such as export tax rebates, according to the spokesperson.

Suzhou's international trade was worth 59.95 billion U.S. dollars from January to March, which was the fourth largest in China after Shanghai, Beijing and southern Guangdong Province's Shenzhen. Suzhou covers 8,488 square km with a population of 8.26 million people in 2009.