The foreign trade of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region has reached a historic milestone, surpassing 170 billion yuan ($23.29 billion) in total import and export value for the first 11 months of the year.

That figure of 172.15 billion yuan reflected a significant growth rate of 29.7 percent compared to the same period last year.

Among this total, exports amounted to 67.84 billion yuan, marking a 24 percent increase year-on-year, while imports reached 104.31 billion yuan, demonstrating a robust growth rate of 33.7 percent.

In November alone, the region's foreign trade volume stood at 19.24 billion yuan, a year-high increase of 42.6 percent.

From January to November, Inner Mongolia engaged in trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, resulting in a trade volume of 133.65 billion yuan, exhibiting a growth rate of 39.9 percent year-on-year.

This accounted for 77.6 percent of the total foreign trade volume of Inner Mongolia during that period.

A spokesperson for the statistical analysis department of Hohhot Customs attributed this remarkable growth to Inner Mongolia's advantageous geographical location and commitment to opening-up.

Leveraging these strengths, the region has accelerated the development of vital trade gateways to the North, implemented a series of policies to stabilize and enhance the quality of foreign trade, and made steady progress in both scale and structural optimization .

The proactive response from foreign trade enterprises, who have diligently pursued orders, improved their structure, and expanded market access, has been crucial in constantly exploring new opportunities for growth.