Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province saw its foreign trade in the first four months of this year reach 94.48 billion yuan ($13.49 billion), up 0.1 percent over the same period last year.
Particularly remarkable were the exports worth 10.79 billion yuan in April, which grew by 21.6 percent year-on-year.
Import and exports among private enterprises totaled 62.12 billion yuan, a 5.1 percent increase over last year and accounting for 65.7 percent of the city's total foreign trade.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which took effect in 2022, has provided tangible benefits to many enterprises in Zhangjiagang, including tariff reductions, rules of origin, and trade facilitation.
Workers operate facilities at a port in Zhangjiagang. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]
In the first four months, Zhangjiagang issued 2,045 RCEP certificates of origin to 99 enterprises, representing a year-on-year increase of 48.51 percent and involving a value of $84.53 million. It is expected to exempt these companies from $1.8-million worth of tariffs.