Foreign trade of China's Inner Mongolia up 38.4 pct in Jan-May

This photo taken on March 17, 2023 shows a freight train at the railway port in Manzhouli, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Photo by Li Fachun/Xinhua)

HOHHOT, July 6 (Xinhua) -- North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region saw a foreign trade volume of 75.78 billion yuan (about 10.51 billion U.S. dollars) in the first five months of 2023, up 38.4 percent year on year.

Exports rose by 22.2 percent year on year to 29.32 billion yuan from January to May, while imports soared 51.1 percent to 46.46 billion yuan, according to the regional department of commerce.

Mechanical and electrical products contributed 10.4 billion yuan to the exports, surging by 150 percent compared with the same period of last year, the department said in a statement.

The imports of coal skyrocketed by 250.7 percent year on year to 18.76 billion yuan during the period.

The region's trade volumes with the bordering countries of Mongolia and Russia surged by 114.7 percent and 97.6 percent year on year, respectively.