In April, Shanxi province's goods trade imports and exports reached 12.15 billion yuan ($1.79 billion), up 5.3 percent year-on-year and marking the first monthly positive growth since last year.

Over the first four months of this year, Shanxi's goods trade import and export totaled 45.69 billion yuan. The number of active trading enterprises in the province surged by nearly 50 percent. As of April, 2,313 enterprises had recorded import and export activity, a net addition of 723 companies.

The top five trading partners for Shanxi during this period were ASEAN, the EU, the United States, Australia, and South Africa, collectively accounting for 47.6 percent of the province's total trade value. Trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 28.21 billion yuan, growing by 8.8 percent and representing 61.7 percent of total trade.

Among the main export goods, wind turbines and solar cells saw significant growth. On the import side, imports of various metal ores, unrefined copper and other copper materials, as well as natural and synthetic rubber, also increased substantially.

Driven by the "dual carbon" strategy and local industrial strengths, Shanxi's exports of green and low-carbon products reached 3.09 billion yuan in the first four months, up 143 percent year-on-year. This accounted for 13.3 percent of the province’s total export value and lifted the overall export growth rate by 7.6 percentage points.