XI'AN — The trade volume of Northwest China's Shaanxi province with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) rose 66.3 percent year-on-year in the first half of the year to 19.33 billion yuan (about 2.77 billion), according to the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Commerce.

ASEAN countries have become important markets for Shaanxi enterprises in terms of foreign investment and project contracting, the department said.

Shaanxi has also become a destination for foreign investment, with ASEAN countries having set up 266 companies in the provincial capital Xi'an and investment totaling nearly $5.76 billion.

The trade volume between Shaanxi and ASEAN countries has seen a steady increase in recent years, with the 2019 figure reaching 27.76 billion yuan, said Ma Yuhong, head of the Shaanxi branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Ma said the province will further its cooperation with ASEAN countries in fields such as the sharing of international trade routes, financial innovation and modern agriculture.

During the January-June period, ASEAN remained China's largest trading partner with trade up 5.6 percent year-on-year to 2.09 trillion yuan, accounting for 14.7 percent of China's total foreign trade, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.