Southwest China's Chongqing municipality saw its foreign trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) grew 33.8 percent year on year to 99.4 billion yuan ($14 billion) in the January-August period.

Chongqing's total trade volume reached 360.9 billion yuan in the first eight months of the year, up 13.9 percent compared with the same period of 2018, according to the city's customs authority.

Its exports increased by 12.9 percent to 230.5 billion yuan, while its imports grew 15.7 percent to 130.4 billion yuan?from January to August.

Trade with the BRI partner countries accounted for 27.5 percent of the total amount, 4.1 percentage points higher than that of the same period last year. The city also reported a robust trade growth of 48.6 percent with ASEAN countries.

Electronic information products have been an important driver for trade growth. Chongqing exported 161.9 billion yuan worth of electronic information products such as computers and central processing units, accounting for 70.2 percent of its total exports.

A visitor takes photos in Hongyadong scenic spot in Yuzhong district, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality. [Photo/xinhuanet.com]