In the first 10 months of this year, the total value of foreign trade imports and exports in the Xizang autonomous region was 9.35 billion yuan ($1.3 billion), 1.5 times that of the same period last year and the highest in the country, Lhasa Customs announced on Friday.

Exports alone reached 8.38 billion yuan, 1.4 times the same period last year. Imports were 973 million yuan, more than triple that of a year ago, with a trade surplus of 7.41 billion yuan, it said.

In October, total imports and exports for the region hit 1.7 billion yuan, a growth factor of 3.3 year-on-year.

During the first 10 months of this year, the region had trade with 169 countries and regions around the world — 75 more than the same period last year. Nepal was the region's biggest trading partner, with trade volume hitting more than 2.14 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of nearly 60 percent.

Also in the first 10 months, exports of labor-intensive products hit nearly 4 billion yuan, a near-triple growth factor of 2.8, while mechanical and electrical products hit 3.06 billion yuan, an increase of 91.1 percent. Imports mainly consist of aircraft, metal ores and engines.

The cities of Shigatse and Lhasa have played a crucial role in driving the accelerated development of foreign trade in the region. Shigatse saw a remarkable increase in imports and exports, reaching more than 4.88 billion yuan, a growth factor of 44.8 times. Lhasa closely followed with imports and exports reaching nearly 4.44 billion yuan, an increase of 22.1 percent.

Trade in other cities of the region was relatively small.

Xizang has also been actively deepening its relations with Nepal and expanding mutually beneficial cooperation. In the first 10 months, total trade between China and Nepal reached nearly 10.2 billion yuan, a 10.8 percent increase. Xizang's trade with Nepal accounted for 21 percent of the total during the period, making it a major provincial-level region in Nepal trading.