Xinjiang's foreign trade up 38.1 pct in first seven months

URUMQI, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region recorded nearly 115.5 billion yuan (about 17 billion U.S. dollars) in foreign trade in the first seven months of this year, up 38.1 percent year on year.

According to Urumqi customs, the region's trade with countries along the Belt and Road increased by 44.1 percent year on year to over 105.1 billion yuan during this period, accounting for 91 percent of the region's total imports and exports. The trade volume with members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership reached 6.3 billion yuan, up 20.4 percent year on year.

During the period, Kyrgyzstan was Xinjiang's largest trade partner, with more than 39.8 billion yuan in trade, up 203.3 percent year on year.

Labor-intensive and mechanical and electrical products were Xinjiang's major export items, and bulk commodities such as minerals and energy products as well as agricultural products were its major imports, according to the customs.