In the first half of this year, the foreign trade of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region was worth 57.61 billion yuan ($8.64 billion) -- an increase of 16.1 percent over the same period the previous year.

Statistics presented at a news conference given by the Inner Mongolia government on July 23 showed that exports totaled 22.26 billion yuan, an increase of 32.3 percent, while imports came in at 35.35 billion yuan, an increase of 7.8 percent.

From January to June, private enterprises led Inner Mongolia's imports and exports and the value of their imports and exports was 37.13 billion yuan, an increase of 8.9 percent.

Meanwhile, imports and exports of State-owned enterprises increased to 16.53 billion yuan, a gain of 39.9 percent.

During the same period, general trade imports and exports reached 38.1 billion yuan, an increase of 10.1 percent, accounting for 66.1 percent of Inner Mongolia's total foreign trade.

Inner Mongolia's foreign trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative was worth 33.69 billion yuan, an increase of 18.6 percent. Its imports and exports to countries participating in Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement amounted to 16.16 billion yuan, up 30.4 percent.

Inner Mongolia's exports were reportedly dominated by steel products, mechanical and electrical products, agricultural products and organic chemicals, which together accounted for 59.9 percent of the total value.

Imports of copper ore and iron ore increased sharply during the period, while coal imports declined slightly. The three together accounted for 77.8 percent of Inner Mongolia's total imports.