URUMQI- Foreign trade of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region grew about 33 percent year-on-year in 2011, far above the national average on robust growth of border trade with its central Asian neighbors, the local government reported Wednesday.

Xinjiang exported $16.8 billion worth of goods last year, up nearly 30 percent from a year earlier while importing nearly $6 billion worth of goods, rising 44 percent year-on-year, according to statistics released by the regional customs bureau.

Kazakstan remained Xinjiang's largest trading partner last year, while trade with five central Asian states -- Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan -- accounted for 78 percent of Xinjiang's foreign trade in 2011, the data shows.

Since 2010, China has been pushing for greater opening-up of the resources-rich and strategically located Xinjiang to transform it into a regional economic hub from a relatively underdeveloped desert region.