YINCHUAN - Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region's foreign trade with countries along the Belt and Road (B&R) grew 3.1 percent year-on-year to 5.52 billion yuan ($781.1 million) in the January-September period.

Ningxia's total trade volume reached 17.86 billion yuan in the first three quarters of the year, up 1 percent compared with the same period of 2018, according to the customs of Yinchuan, capital of the region.

Its exports to B&R countries decreased by 13.3 percent to 4.09 billion yuan, while its imports from B&R countries rose 123.2 percent to 1.43 billion yuan during the period. The region's trade with the United Arab Emirates increased 3.6 times to 2.31 billion yuan.

In the first three quarters, Ningxia's imports of manganese ore and gold have increased significantly. Ningxia imported 2.48 billion yuan worth of manganese ore and 2.27 billion yuan worth of gold, up 119.5 percent and 169.2 percent year-on-year, respectively.