URUMQI — Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region recorded around 97.4 billion yuan (about $15.06 billion) in foreign trade in the first eight months of this year, up 9.5 percent year-on-year, local customs said on Sept 20.

From January to August, Xinjiang's exports reached 76.51 billion yuan while its imports exceeded 20.88 billion yuan, the customs said.

The region's foreign trade with countries along the Belt and Road notched up about 85.5 billion yuan, marking a robust 14.6-percent growth year-on-year and accounting for 87.8 percent of its total foreign trade during the same period.

In the period, the region's trade with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan increased by 8.6 percent, 130 percent and 60 percent, respectively.