HOHHOT, July 18 -- North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region's trade with Belt and Road (B&R) countries grew by 8.4 percent year on year in the first half of the year, the region's government announced Thursday.

Inner Mongolia's total trade volume with B&R countries rose to 36.77 billion yuan (about 5.35 billion U.S. dollars) in the first six months as the region saw a steady year-on-year growth of 9.6 percent in total foreign trade.

Inner Mongolia's import and export trade volume with Mongolia, its major trade partner, reached 17.9 billion yuan in H1, up 20.2 percent year on year, said Jiao Zhijun, an official with the Hohhot customs.

The import demand for staple commodities such as energy has snowballed over the years as China and B&R countries enhance their connectivity and cooperation, leading to a stronger performance in foreign trade, said Jiao.

Last year, the import and export volume of the region hit a record high of 103.44 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.9 percent.