In 2017, Hunan’s exports to "Belt and Road" countries increased 43.14% to 48.25 billion CNY; imports increased 44% to 10.47 billion CNY. Of the total, foreign trade between Hunan and ASEAN countries reached 27.18 billion CNY, up 49.9% and accounting for 46.3%. Foreign trade between Hunan and Russia was 5.49 billion CNY, an increase of 140%; the trade volume accounted for 9.3%, 3.7 percentage points higher than the same period last year.

Electro-mechanical products were the main export commodities, and exports of traditional labor-intensive products increased substantially. In 2017, Hunan exported 22.23 billion CNY of electro-mechanical products to Belt and Road countries, up 43% and accounting for 46.1% of the total exports between Hunan and these countries. During the reported period, exports of traditional labor-intensive products amounted to 11.31 billion CNY, up 82.5% and accounting for 23.4%.

In terms of imports, fast growth was seen in the imports of electro-mechanical products, agricultural products, and high-tech products. In 2017, Hunan imported 2.03 billion CNY of electro-mechanical products from Belt and Road countries, an increase of 110%. And imports of high-tech products valued 1.27 billion CNY, an increase of 180%.