Xinjiang sees boom in foreign trade

Foreign trade volume for the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region soared 60.3 percent year-on-year to 194.8 billion yuan ($27.19 billion) from January to October this year. The growth rate ranked first in the country, according to Urumqi Customs.

Xinjiang had been active in trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative during the first 10 months of this year, increasing by 65.4 percent year-on-year to over 176.4 billion yuan during the period and accounting for 90.6 percent of the region's total.

Kyrgyzstan was Xinjiang's largest trading partner, with 67.7 billion yuan in trade, up 180.2 percent year-on-year. The region's trade with Kyrgyzstan represented 34.7 percent of its total. Labor-intensive, mechanical and electrical products were Xinjiang's major export items, taking up 84 percent of its total 163.84 billion yuan in exports.

There was also a boom in the export of new energy products. The export of lithium-ion batteries registered a year-on-year growth of 407 percent while the solar cells were up 439.7 percent.