Yunnan sees foreign trade up 51 pct in Jan-Aug

Southwest China's Yunnan Province reported strong trade growth in the first eight months of this year.

Yunnan's foreign trade totaled 199.08 billion yuan (about 30.8 billion U.S. dollars) from January to August, up 51.1 percent from a year ago, said Kunming Customs.

The province's exports rose 82.1 percent year on year to 106.06 billion yuan, while imports gained 26.5 percent to 93.02 billion yuan.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remained Yunnan's largest trading partner during the eight months, with trade growing 24.5 percent year on year to 82.45 billion yuan, the agency said.

Trade with countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member countries, grew by 24.9 percent and 30.7 percent, respectively.