The so-called asbestos train departs Dunhuang, Northwest China's Gansu province, on its way to Thailand on April 21, 2022. [Photo by Zhang Xiaoliang/For chinadaily.com.cn]

LANZHOU -- China's Gansu province reported growing foreign trade in the first four months of 2023, with its trade volume with countries along the Belt and Road registering a year-on-year growth of 16.3 percent, data from local customs showed.

From January to April, the total value of Gansu's foreign trade reached 21.2 billion yuan ($3 billion), up 0.8 percent year-on-year. The province's imports from and exports to Belt and Road countries constituted 55.4 percent of its overall foreign trade, amounting to a total of 11.75 billion yuan.

Meanwhile, Gansu's trade with Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership member countries registered a striking year-on-year growth of 53.2 percent to 6.1 billion yuan.

Specifically, the export of mechanical and electrical products in Gansu in the first four months was 2.5 billion yuan, an increase of 61.4 percent from the same period in the previous year.

During the same period, the import of nickel matte registered a substantial growth of 179.9 percent, hitting 2.17 billion yuan.