Longbang border gate in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo/China News Services]

Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region saw its total import and export volume expand by 38.2 percent year-on-year to 241.74 billion yuan ($37.37 billion) over the first five months of 2021, a full 10 percentage points higher than the national average, officials from Nanning Customs announced on June 21.

The volume was also 26.2 percent higher than the figure during the same time period in 2019, before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The overall foreign trade volume between Guangxi and countries alongside the Belt and Road reached 131.27 billion yuan in the first five months of 2021 with an increase of 39.9 percent year-on-year. The growth rate was 12.5 percentage points higher than the national average.

The import and export volume between the region and ASEAN from January to May climbed by 43.2 percent year-on-year to 122.32 billion yuan.

The import and export volume of mechanical and electrical products made in Guangxi maintained rapid growth in border trade. For example, the export volume of automatic data processing equipment and related accessories amounted to 14.89 billion yuan, up 42.4 percent year-on-year.