Baotou customs workers check imported equipment parts. [Photo/baotounews.com.cn]

Baotou in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region recorded a foreign trade import and export value of 19.11 billion yuan ($2.99 billion) in the first three quarters of 2021, an increase of 64.23 percent over the same period last year, according to the city's customs.

Specifically, exports were 8.86 billion yuan, an increase of 74.27 percent, while imports were 10.26 billion yuan, an increase of 56.44 percent.

During the nine-month period, general trade imports and exports totaled 17.79 billion yuan, an increase of 58.12 percent, accounting for 93.07 percent of the city's foreign trade import and export value.

In the same period, the import and export value of bonded logistics was 512 million yuan, an increase of 397.38 percent, accounting for 2.68 percent of the city's foreign trade import and export value.

Australia, South Korea, Vietnam, and Mongolia are Baotou's main trading countries, and their trade value has increased significantly during the period.

In the first nine months of the year, Baotou's import and export values with Australia, South Korea, Vietnam, and Mongolia were 8.41 billion yuan, 1.84 billion yuan, 1.2 billion yuan and 1.03 billion yuan respectively, an increase of 79.84 percent, 143.89 percent, 256.84 percent and 89.46 percent respectively.

State-owned enterprises continue to maintain their leading position in foreign trade, with a total import and export volume of 15.26 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 68.77 percent, accounting for 79.8 percent of the city's total import and export value.

The export of steel, mechanical and electrical products, and rare earth products increased by 78.71 percent, 130.65 percent, and 56.45 percent respectively during the period.

The main imports were metal ore, ore and coal. During the period, the city imported 8.68 billion yuan of metal ore and ore, an increase of 79.11 percent.