NANCHANG, June 14 -- East China's Jiangxi Province recorded robust foreign trade growth in the first five months of 2023, according to local customs.

The province's total import and export value grew 21.8 percent year on year to 304.3 billion yuan (about 42.5 billion U.S. dollars) from January to May, data from Nanchang Customs showed. Of the total trade, exports rose 21.8 percent year on year to 234.4 billion yuan, while imports went up 22 percent to 69.9 billion yuan.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States and the European Union remained Jiangxi's major trading partners in the period.

Meanwhile, Jiangxi's trade with countries and regions along the Belt and Road soared to 101.7 billion yuan, up 18.1 percent compared with the same period in 2022, while its trade with other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership increased by 30.4 percent to 110.8 billion yuan.