In the first seven months of this year, the import and export volume of Guangxi's foreign trade reached 393.51 billion yuan ($54.2 billion), up 34.4 percent from the same period last year. Exports totaled 195.8 billion yuan, marking an annual jump of 37.2 percent, while imports reached 197.71 billion yuan, an increase of 31.8 percent year-on-year.

Guangxi has seen its imports from and exports to member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) grow by more than 60 percent this year, while also witnessing rapid growth in bilateral trade with many Middle East and African countries.

From January to July, Guangxi's imports and exports to RCEP member states reached 215.44 billion yuan, up 67.2 percent year-on-year. Imports and exports to ASEAN members jumped 71.6 percent, those to Middle East and African countries rose by 19 percent and 39 percent, respectively, and trade with the EU reached 12.02 billion yuan, registering year-on-year growth of 47.7 percent.

Staff at Nanning Customs inspect products at a local factory. [Photo/WeChat account: gh_652f5a9ad0e6]

In the first seven months, imports and exports entering and leaving the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) grew to 144.85 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 55.7 percent. Among them, the import of bulk commodities amounted to 12.79 million metric tons, an increase of 81.2 percent, which contributed to a 17.9 percentage point increase in the import value of bulk commodities in Guangxi as a whole over this period.

The export of high-tech products stood at 30.3 billion, marking an annual climb of 69.8 percent, accounting for 59.4 percent of the total export value of high-tech products in Guangxi during the same period.

In the first seven months, Guangxi imported 6.37 billion yuan of fruits, mainly fresh durian, which was up 120.2 percent from the corresponding period in 2022. Fruit exports reached 1.38 billion yuan, up 44.6 percent.