Jilin enjoys Belt and Road benefits

Northeast China's Jilin province was able to report a healthy year for foreign trade, with the value of imports and exports traded with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative totaling 38 billion yuan ($5.63 billion) in 2018, an increase of 1.3 percent year on year, according to Changchun Customs.

Indeed, trade with Belt and Road countries was so significant that it accounted for one fourth of the total value of the province's foreign trade.

Statistics reveal that Russia was the province's most active trading partner, with imports and exports reaching 6.24 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 61.9 percent –– accounting for 16.4 percent of the total imports and exports of countries along the route; and it has also become the fourth largest trading partner of Jilin province.

It was followed by ASEAN member states, which witnessed a year-on-year increase of 14.4 percent.

Jilin's largest overseas market along the route were the member states of the European Union, with imports and exports reaching 19.04 billion yuan, up 7.7 percent year on year, accounting for 50.1 percent of the total.

And according to local authorities, trade with Russia is expected to increase even further in the years to come, thanks to excellent bilateral relations and regular high-level visits between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the "16+1" cooperation agreement between China and the Central and Eastern European countries is also expected to boost trade between Jilin and the BRI economies.