BEIJING -- Beijing municipality saw its foreign trade grow 5.6 percent month-on-month to nearly 209.5 billion yuan ($31.45 billion) in September, the fourth consecutive month of growth, customs data showed Thursday.

Affected by COVID-19, the total import and export volume of Beijing fell below 200 billion yuan in April this year. However, as the economy warms up, the city's foreign trade is gathering steam.

In September, Beijing's imports rose 7.3 percent month-on-month to more than 174.5 billion yuan, while exports stood at 34.95 billion yuan, down 2.5 percent from the previous month, Beijing Customs said.

The import of automobiles, medical supplies and drugs, unwrought and rolled copper and copper materials registered a strong performance. Automobile imports reached 20.84 billion yuan, up 36.7 percent year-on-year, a record high in monthly imports this year.

Exports of mobile phones, textiles and clothing, and integrated circuits posted robust growth in September. Mobile phone exports reached 6.18 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 63.6 percent, making up 17.7 percent of total exports.

Enterprises with foreign investment and private companies in Beijing showed continuous vitality in September. The imports and exports of foreign-invested enterprises jumped 19.3 percent year-on-year to 56.62 billion yuan, accounting for 62.3 percent of the total. Foreign trade of private enterprises reached 20.8 billion yuan, an annual increase of 5.5 percent.

In the first three quarters of this year, Beijing's foreign trade declined 18.1 percent year-on-year to 1.73 trillion yuan.