URUMQI, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region saw its foreign trade expand 28 percent year on year to a record 280.8 billion yuan (about 39.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2025, local customs authorities said on Friday.

During the period, the region's trade growth outpaced the national average by over 20 percentage points.

According to Urumqi Customs, Xinjiang's monthly foreign trade has exceeded 50 billion yuan for four consecutive months since March, with its volume in June reaching 53.17 billion yuan.

As the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) continues to forge ahead, Xinjiang has committed to building itself into an important corridor linking Asia and Europe, and to serving as a gateway for China's opening-up efforts in the western regions.

Xinjiang has continued to expand its trade network, trading with 222 countries and regions during the first six months of the year. Trade with countries participating in the BRI rose 17.9 percent year on year, accounting for more than 80 percent of the region's total foreign trade.

The private sector has emerged as a primary growth engine for Xinjiang's foreign trade, with the region's private enterprises reporting a 29.5 percent increase in imports and exports, accounting for 94.3 percent of its total trade volume.

Li Qinghua, deputy director of Urumqi Customs, said the customs office will further optimize customs clearance procedures and promote innovation in supervision models to facilitate cross-border trade.

Xinjiang has set an annual GDP growth target of approximately 6 percent for 2025, after its GDP topped 2 trillion yuan last year, according to the region's government work report.

In 2025, Xinjiang will advance high-quality development, deepen reform and expand high-level opening-up, the report said. ■