Shandong's foreign trade volume with countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 659.71 billion yuan ($103.38 billion), up 41.3 percent year-on-year and up 54.8 percent over the same period in 2019, according to customs statistics.

A logo for the Belt and Road Initiative is seen at an expo in Shanghai. [Photo/VCG]

The province's exports to BRI nations reached 367.71 billion yuan, up 39.6 percent year-on-year, while imports totaled 292 billion yuan, up 43.6 percent.

Shandong's import and export value with Belt and Road countries took up more than one-third of the province's total foreign trade during the same period, said the local customs.

In September, Shandong's imports and exports to BRI countries reached 80.3 billion yuan, up 22.5 percent, exceeding 80 billion yuan for the second time after June this year.

A US cargo ship docks at the Qingdao Port, Shandong province. [Photo by Yu Shaoyue/For China Daily]

From January to September this year, imports and exports of general trade between Shandong and BRI countries totaled 450.25 billion yuan, up 35.8 percent year-on-year, accounting for nearly 70 percent of its total trade volume with BRI countries during the period.

The province's trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reached 298.09 billion yuan, up 47.3 percent year-on-year, accounting for more than 45 percent of its total trade volume with BRI countries during the period.