URUMQI - Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region saw its foreign trade volume near a decade high in the first half of 2023, coming in at 149.62 billion yuan ($20.9 billion), up 65.2 percent year-on-year.

Xinjiang witnessed closer economic and trade exchanges with countries along the Belt and Road, positive momentum in the export of high value-added products, and a gradual expansion of agricultural imports, according to Urumqi Customs.

In the first half of the year, Xinjiang's trade with countries along the Belt and Road totaled 138.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 68.2 percent. Its trade with the five Central Asian countries amounted to 119.66 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 75.1 percent.

Its exports of electric vehicles and solar cells increased by 363.3 percent and 54.9 times from January to June, respectively, showing the increasing competitiveness of the region's high value-added products.