BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Trade volume between China and countries along the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative totaled 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars last year, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

This marked a year-on-year growth of 16.3 percent, 3.7 percentage points higher than China's trade growth in 2018.

China exported goods worth 704.73 billion dollars to B&R countries last year, up 10.9 percent year on year, while importing goods from them worth 563.07 billion dollars, rising 23.9 percent year on year.

Chinese firms invested 15.64 billion dollars in non-financial sectors in B&R countries last year, up 8.9 percent year on year, while receiving investment from them totalling 6.08 billion dollars, up 11.9 percent.

China will further open up the market to share more opportunities with B&R countries and promote mutual opening-up among them, said MOC spokesperson Gao Feng.

China will also promote free and facilitation of trade and investment in the region and invite more B&R firms to attend the second China International Import Expo this year, Gao added.