China's trade with countries along the Belt and Road routes totaled 5.31 trillion yuan (about 776.1 billion U.S. dollars) in the first eight months of the year, up 12 percent year on year, 2.9 percentage points faster than the average growth rate, according to the latest customs data. Data shows that China's goods trade went up 9.1 percent year on year to 19.43 trillion yuan (about 2.85 trillion U.S. dollars) in the period. To be specific, in the first eight months of the year, China's trade with the European Union (EU), the U.S. and the ASEAN countries increased 6.2 percent, 5.9 percent and 11.8 percent year on year, respectively.
China saw a 6.2% year-on-year rise in trade with countries on the Belt and Road route in the first eight months of 2018, the latest customs data has confirmed. This was 2.9 percentage points faster than the average growth rate. Trade with those countries totalled CNY5.31tn ($773bn) during the period. In comparison, the country’s trade with the EU, the US and the ASEAN nations rose 12%, 5.9% and 11.8% year-on-year respectively.