People purchase at the Bakti China-Kazakhstan border trade center in Tacheng, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 15, 2019. (Xinhua/Sadat)

Xinjiang's foreign trade volume rose 13.3 percent year on year in the first seven months. The growth was 9.1 percentage points higher than the national average over the period.

URUMQI, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region saw its foreign trade volume reach 76.08 billion yuan (10.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the first seven months of this year, up 13.3 percent year on year, local authorities said Wednesday.

The growth was 9.1 percentage points higher than the national foreign trade growth over the period, according to the customs authorities of Urumqi, the regional capital.

Xinjiang's foreign trade saw five months of consecutive growth in the Jan.-July period. In particular, the region's import volume in July reached 4.23 billion yuan, a record high in a single month since 2017.

In the first seven months, Xinjiang's trade with Kazakhstan, its biggest trading partner, saw a year-on-year increase of 17.2 percent to reach 34.83 billion yuan, accounting for 45.8 percent of the region's foreign trade.

The region's trade with Australia, Argentina and South Africa also posted robust growth.

The Urumqi Customs said it will work to further streamline customs clearance and improve the business environment.