TIANJIN, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Foreign trade with countries participating in Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative via the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin rose 3.6 percent year-on-year in the first 10 months of the year, local customs authorities said Thursday.

The trade value with B&R countries reached 306.3 billion yuan (about 43.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-October period, accounting for 27.1 percent of the port city's total, according to the Tianjin Customs.

The city's exports to B&R countries totaled 197.1 billion yuan, while the imports hit 109.2 billion yuan during the period.

Members on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was the port city's biggest trade partner among all the Belt and Road countries, while trade with India, the European Union and the United Arab Emirates registered fast growth during the same period.

The top three import commodities were crude oil, agricultural products and electrical and electronic products, while the mechanical and electrical products topped the export products.

Private enterprises played a leading role in driving the port city's foreign trade growth with Belt and Road countries. Imports from these countries by private enterprises via Tianjin went up 47 percent year on year to 38.4 billion yuan, while their exports grew by 3.7 percent to 113.9 billion yuan.