HARBIN, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The foreign trade volume of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province rose 19.4 percent year on year to 108.09 billion yuan (15.28 billion U.S. dollars) in the January to July period, according to local authorities.

The growth rate is 15.2 percent higher than the national average for the same period, according to the provincial department of commerce.

The province's export volume totaled 19.13 billion yuan for January to July, up 23.6 percent, while the import volume reached 88.96 billion yuan, an increase of 18.6 percent from the same period last year, it added.

Bordering Russia, Heilongjiang has seen great development of its trade with Russia in the first seven months, which rose 15.4 percent to 73.6 billion yuan. The province's trade with Russia accounts for 68.1 percent of its total foreign trade and 17.7 percent of the China-Russia trade.

From January to July, Heilongjiang has carried out trade with 62 countries and regions along the Belt and Road, with the total trade volume reaching 87.21 billion yuan, up 22.4 percent year on year.