The Zhangjiagang port is busy even at night. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]

The foreign trade of Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, amounted to a record $46.67 billion in 2022, up 8 percent year-on-year.

Exports were worth $20.39 billion, a 12-percent year-on-year increase, while the value of imports reached $26.28 billion, up 5.2 percent compared to 2021.

COFCO Global Harvest (Zhangjiagang) Trading Co became the first company in the city to have an annual foreign trade value of more than $10 billion.

Zhangjiagang continued with efforts to build a favorable environment that facilitated foreign trade last year. The city's commerce bureau in 2022 organized more than 1,200 companies to attend major trade fairs at home and abroad, including the Canton Fair and China International Import Expo. More than 150 companies also participated in activities related to cross-border e-commerce.

To help local companies make the best of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Zhangjiagang authorities held training sessions about the free trade agreement for more than 350 people and issued over 9,600 certificates of origin last year. The trade volume between Zhangjiagang and member countries of the RCEP currently accounts for more than one third of the city's total foreign trade.

Customs authorities in Zhangjiagang also improved their work efficiency and reduced clearance costs for companies. Customized services have been provided to traders involved in industries like soybean, automobile, and iron ore.