The trade volume of northwest China's Gansu Province with the Belt and Road countries grew by 6 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2019, said the customs of Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province.

The total foreign trade volume of the province reached 8.83 billion yuan (about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter, and the trade volume with Belt and Road countries accounted for 54.1 percent, or 4.78 billion yuan, said the customs.

In the first three months, Gansu's processing trade volume increased to 2.62 billion yuan, accounting for 29.7 percent of the province's total, a year-on-year rise of 43.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the private enterprises in the province saw their foreign trade rise 5.2 percent year on year to 3.82 billion yuan, making up 43.3 percent of the province's total.