NANNING, March 17 -- South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region touched a new high in foreign trade in the first two months of 2024, local authorities said Sunday.

Guangxi's total imports and exports in January and February hit 109.1 billion yuan (about 15.4 billion U.S. dollars), up 18.9 percent year on year.

Exports rose 37.2 percent year on year to 60.59 billion yuan, and imports increased 1.9 percent to 48.51 billion yuan, according to the customs of Nanning, the regional capital.

During the period, the foreign trade of Guangxi's private enterprises reached 73.78 billion yuan, up 43.3 percent, accounting for 67.6 percent of the region's total.

The rapid growth of Guangxi's foreign trade is mainly attributable to the region's continuous expansion of opening up, according to a customs official.

Official data showed that Guangxi's trade with Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries reached 80.75 billion yuan in the first two months, an increase of 24.1 percent year on year, contributing to 74 percent of Guangxi's total foreign trade.

Meanwhile, trade between Guangxi and other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership totaled 66.39 billion yuan, up 40.3 percent from the same period of the previous year.