BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China's trade with countries along the Belt and Road (B&R) posted growth in the first two months of this year, official data showed last Saturday.
Trade with B&R countries from January to February totaled 1.31 trillion yuan, up 1.8 percent year on year, outpacing the country's total trade growth by 11.4 percentage points, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).
Trade with B&R countries also registered a record high share of China's total trade, which stood at 31.7 percent, up by 3.5 percentage points over one year ago.
Economic and trade cooperation with B&R countries has expanded the space for China's foreign trade development, and plays a significant role in stabilizing the country's foreign trade, said GAC.
China's trade with ASEAN countries also rose in the first two months, by two percent year on year to reach 594.11 billion, making ASEAN the largest trade partner of China.
During the January-February period, China's total imports and exports reached 4.12 trillion yuan, down 9.6 percent year on year.
The country's trade with the European Union, the U.S. and Japan all posted double-digit decrease during the period.
GAC attributed the decline in the foreign trade to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia and the prolonged Spring Festival holiday.
The impact of the epidemic on China's foreign trade is temporary. The long-term upward trend of the country's foreign trade has not changed, said an official with GAC.
The official added that with efficient epidemic prevention and control measures as well as implementation of supportive policies, enterprises engaging in foreign trade have move faster to resume production, and market confidence has been steadily restored.
In February, the import and export value of foreign trade and the number of customs declaration forms of enterprises has increased by ten days, according to GAC data.
Of the 2,552 foreign trade-related enterprises surveyed by GAC, 80.6 percent have resume production. (Edited by Su Dan, silviasu07@163.com）
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