The foreign trade of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in 2021 set a record high with a total import and export volume of 593.06 billion yuan ($93.65 billion), up 21.8 percent year–on-year and breaking the 500 billion yuan mark for the first time ever, officials from Nanning Customs announced on Jan 22.

Guangxi's foreign trade with emerging markets surged last year. The import and export volume between Guangxi and other RCEP member countries stood at 320.91 billion yuan in 2021, with a year-on-year increase of 18.9 percent. The foreign trade volume between Guangxi and ASEAN went up by 18.8 percent to 282.12 billion yuan, while the growth rate of Guangxi's foreign trade with Latin America and Africa was 50.4 percent and 32.1 percent respectively. 

General and border trade remained the two major trade forms of Guangxi, while the region's bonded logistics and processing trade witnessed rapid growth, with an import and export volume of 142 billion yuan and 114 billion yuan each, increasing by 44.8 percent and 21.5 percent separately. 

All 14 cities in Guangxi achieved positive growth in 2021, with Chongzuo, Nanning, and Fangchenggang ranking top three in the region with a foreign trade volume of 212.71 billion yuan, 123.19 billion yuan, and 88.56 billion yuan respectively. Liuzhou ranked first in Guangxi in terms of its foreign trade growth rate, which was 52.3 percent, due to the city's strong industrial foundation. 

The export volume of Guangxi's high-tech products increased by 34.8 percent to 88.65 billion yuan in 2021, contributing 8.5 percentage points to the growth of Guangxi's total export volume. 

Six cities of the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone realized a total import and export volume of 483.96 billion yuan in 2021, driving Guangxi's stable foreign trade to grow by 16 percentage points, becoming an important economic engine in the region.