Officers from Tianshui Customs, under Lanzhou Customs, conduct on-site inspections of exported mushrooms. [Photo/Gansu Daily]

Gansu province's trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) reached 31.23 billion yuan ($4.65 billion) from January to July this year, up 5.8 percent year-on-year, with exports amounting to 5.54 billion yuan, up 3.6 percent, and imports at 25.69 billion yuan, up 6.3 percent.

Imports accounted for over 80 percent of the total, with bulk resource commodities dominating. Meanwhile, the export of specialty agricultural and light industrial products emerged as new growth drivers.

Jinchang led with 16.56 billion yuan in trade with BRI countries, representing 53.0 percent of the province's total. Baiyin and Lanzhou followed closely in trade volume. Tianshui's trade reached 1.02 billion yuan, with a significant growth rate of 42.0 percent, while Longnan and Wuwei saw impressive increases of 161.9 percent and 82.5 percent, respectively.

Enhanced customs services have contributed to this steady growth, with Lanzhou Customs focusing on key categories such as specialty agricultural products, non-ferrous metals, and equipment manufacturing; optimizing measures such as issuing certificates of origin, inspection and quarantine, and green channels; and implementing RCEP and BRI-related customs policies to reduce clearance costs.