Petty trade through the national border in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in the first quarter hit $2.1 billion, Nanning Customs said.

Import volume reached $1.89 billion, up 37.5 percent year-on-year.

Guangxi’s border trade growth is 28.2 percentage points higher than the national average, surpassing the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region for the first time as the largest cross-border trader in China.

Chongzuo city leads among all border cities in Guangxi, with total foreign trade volume hitting $1.76 billion, up 50.1 percent year-on-year. Qinzhou is ranked second with $87.79 million, and Baise was third with $66.47 million. Textile products, mechanical and electrical products and agricultural products constitute the main body of export. Natural resources are the main imported materials through the Sino-Vietnamese border.

An officer with customs indicates they will further boost border trade by expanding the beneficiary scale of their supportive policies, other than through providing export subsidies on interest payments. He hopes the border-trade enterprises can expand their businesses to more trades and industries to boost their competitiveness in the international market.