Guangxi’s import and export to countries co-building the “Belt and Road” maintains strong growth momentum_1

On the evening of October 16, Nanning Customs announced that Guangxi’s imports and exports with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative have shown robust growth this year, significantly boosting the region’s overall foreign trade. In the first three quarters of the year, Guangxi achieved a total import and export volume of 521.77 billion yuan (approximately $76.5 billion), reflecting a year-on-year increase of 9.1%.

Specifically, Guangxi’s trade with Belt and Road countries reached 393.65 billion yuan, growing by 14.7% and accounting for 75.4% of the region’s total foreign trade during the same period. Notably, trade with Vietnam amounted to 212.08 billion yuan, demonstrating an impressive growth rate of 22%. Additionally, imports and exports with Africa and South Asian countries grew by 14.9% and 4.7%, respectively.

Furthermore, nearly 60% of Guangxi’s trade was with other member states of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), totaling 308.69 billion yuan—an increase of 16.2%. The trade volume with ASEAN countries and Australia specifically reached 274.79 billion yuan and 23.75 billion yuan, growing by 18.2% and 22.6%, respectively. During the same period, trade with other BRICS nations, the United States, and Chile grew by 8.6%, 13.1%, and 22%, respectively.

According to analysis from Nanning Customs, the growth in Guangxi’s foreign trade is also attributed to strong export performance. In the first three quarters, exports rose by nearly 20%, totaling 285.38 billion yuan, a 19.5% increase. Exports to Belt and Road countries specifically saw remarkable growth in lithium batteries and electric vehicles, increasing by 237.4% and 13.9%, respectively. Simultaneously, as Guangxi’s industries in paper, steel, and chemicals continue to develop, the export scale of paper products, steel, and basic organic chemicals expanded, achieving growth rates of 54%, 71.9%, and 25.5%, respectively.

A representative from Nanning Customs emphasized the role of bulk commodity imports as a stabilizing force. In the first three quarters, Guangxi imported 58.29 million tons of bulk commodities valued at 137.21 billion yuan, marking a growth of 10.6% and contributing 5.5 percentage points to the overall import growth rate in the region. The imports of metal ores and energy products have effectively met the industrial production demands within Guangxi.