HOHHOT, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Trade volume in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region totalled 94.2 billion yuan (14.7 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017, up 22.8 percent year on year, with both imports and exports surging substantially, the regional government said at a press conference Friday.

The export volume reached about 33.5 billion yuan, up 15.8 percent year on year, while the import volume topped 60.7 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 27.8 percent.

A boom in economic exchanges between the region and Belt and Road countries and regions, as well as the China-Mongolia- Economic Corridor, have helped increase the region's total trade volume, said Tian Xinqiang, deputy head of customs in the city of Hohhot.

Mongolia and Russia have became the region's major trade partners, he added.

Mechanical and electrical exports, coal and crude oil imports saw huge increases, according to statistics.