NANNING — Foreign trade in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region grew by 41.1 percent year-on-year to 189.6 billion yuan (about $29.5 billion) in the first four months of this year, the local customs said.

During the period, exports hit 104.51 billion yuan, up 45.9 percent year-on-year, while imports reached 85.09 billion yuan, up 35.5 percent, according to Nanning Customs.

Guangxi's trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative rose by 46.3 percent year-on-year to 104.73 billion yuan.

The region's private businesses enjoyed a strong performance, with a total import and export value of 121.92 billion yuan, up 41.2 percent from the same period last year.

In terms of products, the export and import of mechanical and electrical products grew by 49 percent and 45.6 percent, respectively.