China's central and western regions achieved stable growth in foreign trade, with import and export values reaching record highs in the first nine months this year.

In the first three quarters of this year, the value of imports and exports in central China reached 2.84 trillion yuan (about 399 billion U.S. dollars), a record high, an 11.4 percent increase year on year, 7.4 percentage points higher than the national growth rate. The value has so far achieved positive growth for 16 consecutive months.

The region's trade value with countries participating in the co-construction of the Belt and Road Initiative reached 1.5 trillion yuan (about 210.9 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 14.5 percent, accounting for over half of the region's total foreign trade during the same period.
In the same period, the total value of exports in western regions reached 2 trillion yuan (about 281 billion U.S. dollars), a 13.7-percent increase; imports reached 1.2 trillion yuan (168.8 billion U.S. dollars), a 4.9-percent increase.

Trade with countries participating in Belt and Road cooperation valued 2 trillion yuan (about 281 billion US dollars) in total, accounting for over 60 percent of the region's total foreign trade during the period. The imports and exports of private enterprises reached 1.75 trillion yuan (about 246 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 54.5 percent of the region's total foreign trade value.

China’s western region continued to upgrade and improve its distinctive and advantageous industries. In the first three quarters, exports of high-tech products reached 458.38 billion yuan (about 64.5 billion US dollars), a 26.4 percent increase.