In the first quarter of this year, North China's Shanxi province's trade with member countries of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) totaled 14.64 billion yuan ($2.02 billion). 

This represented an 18.7-percent increase compared to the same period last year, and accounted for 31.9 percent of the province's total import and export value during the period.

Specifically, the province's trade with Indonesia during this period reached its highest value, while trade with Cambodia experienced fastest growth. In the first quarter, Shanxi's imports and exports with Indonesia amounted to 4.52 billion yuan, marking a 39.9-percent increase. Shanxi's international trade with Cambodia experienced the most rapid increase during this time period, hitting 30 million yuan and reflecting a growth of 418.1 percent.

In the first quarter, the province's exports of mechanical and electrical products to RCEP member countries amounted to 4.65 billion yuan, reflecting a 26.5-percent increase. This also accounted for 68.7 percent of the province's total exports to RCEP member countries. 

During the same period, Shanxi's steel export value amounted to 770 million yuan, representing 11.4 percent of its total exports. The majority of this steel was exported to South Korea. 

As for imports, in the first quarter, the province imported ferroalloy products worth 2.51 billion yuan from Indonesia. This marked a 29.8-percent increase and accounted for 31.9 percent of the province's total RCEP-related imports.

During the same period, the imports of various metal ores and sands totaled 2.11 billion yuan, representing a 4.9-percent increase, with majority imported from Australia and Indonesia. Furthermore, the imports of mechanical and electrical products amounted to 1.58 billion yuan, marking a 3.7-percent increase.