China's Hebei Province reports rising trade with B&R countries in May

North China's Hebei Province saw its trade with Belt and Road (B&R) countries stand at 13.48 billion yuan (about 2.08 billion U.S. dollars) in May, up 35 percent year on year, according to latest data of the Shijiazhuang Customs.

Hebei saw its import and export volume with 11 countries in Southeast Asia rank first among all B&R countries in May, with the trade volume up 17.5 percent year on year to be 5.06 billion yuan.

Private enterprises were the main driver for the province's foreign trade in May, with the volume of 10.08 billion yuan, up 32.2 percent year on year.

Mechanical and electrical products, steel, clothing and textile yarn topped the list of export commodities. The volume of those commodities all grew year on year. Exports of its mechanical and electrical products, and steel products stood at 2.96 billion yuan and 1.98 billion yuan, up 17.5 percent and 33.4 percent year on year, respectively.

Among the import commodities, resource-based products took the lion's share in May, with the province's imports of natural gas, crude oil, and coal and lignite valued at 500 million yuan, 360 million yuan, and 140 million yuan, up 20.2 times, 7.8 percent and 46.5 percent year on year, respectively. Its imports of metal ore and ore sand went down 11.4 percent year on year to be 580 million yuan in May.