Trade between the Chinese mainland and Macao dropped by 26 percent year on year to 1.96 billion U.S. dollars during the first seven months of 2016, according to figures from the Ministry of Commerce.

The mainland's exports to Macao decreased by 26.2 percent year on year to 1.87 billion U.S. dollars during the January-July period. Imports from Macao were at 90 million U.S. dollars, a drop of 23.6 percent year on year, according to the ministry.

Mainland authorities approved 197 investment projects from Macao during the January-July period, with the actual use of Macao capital reaching 550 million U.S. dollars, down 14.9 percent from the same period last year.

As of the end of July, 14,595 Macao-invested projects had been approved by mainland authorities and the actual use of Macao capital totaled 13.34 billion U.S. dollars.