Belt and Road boosts foreign trade: report

The relevant departments of the Ministry of Commerce published a report on China's foreign trade in Beijing on Nov. 6.

The report indicates that in the first three quarters of this year, thanks to the rising demand at home and abroad, supportive policies and speeding up of industrial upgrading, China's total export-import value hit 20.29 trillion yuan (US$3.06 trillion), up 16.6 percent year-on-year, with the trade surplus down 17.7 percent year-on-year to 2.03 trillion yuan.

The Belt and Road projects strengthen China's economic and trade ties with the countries along the Belt and Road routes, and China's trade with those countries in the first three quarters rose 20.1 percent, year-on-year. Key trading growth areas have been recorded with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, India, Russia and Central Asia.

China's foreign trade will face new opportunities, as well as challenges next year. With the expediting of economic restructuring, the positive fundamentals of China's foreign trade will remain unchanged.

The reform and development plan outlined by the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing last month will inject new vigor to China's economy and trade. And the Belt and Road Initiative is expected to create broad channels for the development of foreign trade.