With the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation underway, Hohhot Customs has reported encouraging news: Inner Mongolia's trade value with African countries reached 3.05 billion yuan ($417.81 million) in the first seven months of this year, marking a 12.1 percent year-on-year increase.

During this period, Inner Mongolia saw significant growth in exports of steel, electromechanical products, and agricultural goods to African nations.

Steel exports surged to 450 million yuan, a remarkable 494.1 percent increase, while exports of electromechanical products climbed to 330 million yuan, up by 170.5 percent, and agricultural product exports reached 240 million yuan, growing by 26.4 percent.

These exports accounted for 49.3 percent of Inner Mongolia's total export value to African countries.

On the import side, Inner Mongolia imported 420-million-yuan-worth of metal ores and sands along with an equal amount of unrefined copper and copper materials from African nations.

Together, these imports made up 87.1 percent of Inner Mongolia's total imports from Africa during the same period.

For many enterprises in Inner Mongolia, the increasingly busy trade with Africa represents an excellent opportunity to export their competitive production capacities and expand internationally.

A spokesperson from Hohhot Customs noted that as Inner Mongolia's traditional industries, such as steel, continue to be optimized and upgraded, their competitiveness in the African market is strengthened. The deepening friendship and cooperation between China and Africa are propelling both regions towards modernization and higher levels of connectivity.