Last year, the total import and export trade of Hohhot, capital of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, reached 22.67 billion yuan ($3.10 billion), up 17.3 percent year over year. This exceeded Inner Mongolia's growth rate by 11.5 percentage points and accounted for 10.9 percent of the region's total.

Imports stood at 9.88 billion yuan, a 31.3 percent increase, while exports reached 12.79 billion yuan, up 8.3 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of 2.91 billion yuan.

Hohhot's major imports included refined oil, agricultural products, and food, with import values of 3.51 billion yuan, 2.47 billion yuan, and 1.62 billion yuan, respectively. The city's key exports were electromechanical products, high-tech products, and pharmaceuticals, valued at 3.07 billion yuan, 1.9 billion yuan, and 1.66 billion yuan, respectively.

Trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative was the highest, reaching 14.19 billion yuan, a 34 percent year-on-year increase, accounting for 62.6 percent of Hohhot's total trade.

Malaysia, the United States, Mongolia, and Russia were the city's top trade partners, with trade values of 3.68 billion yuan, 3.09 billion yuan, 2.31 billion yuan, and 1.75 billion yuan, respectively.

Behind this substantial growth is the city's continuous introduction of business-friendly policies. Since last year, Hohhot's Comprehensive Bonded Zone has expanded its range of business activities, and customs-supervised areas in Shaliang and Tietong logistics parks have been put into operation. Customized freight train shipments have steadily increased, high-tech product exports have shown strong growth, and self-owned brand exports have hit a record high.

New trade formats, such as cross-border e-commerce, have also flourished, expanding Hohhot’s global trade network and driving simultaneous growth in trade volume, value, and quality.