As one of the earliest major ports in China to open up to the world, Xiamen has formed an all-around, multi-level, and multi-dimensional level of opening-up by integrating air and sea routes.

Xiamen started reducing costs and increasing the efficiency of ports in 2015 by releasing over 120 measures to boost the development of the cross-border business environment.

From January to August, the overall customs clearance time for imported and exported goods in the city's customs area were 28.28 hours and 1.37 hours, respectively, which were 74.22 percent and 93.86 percent shorter than those in 2017, which places it first among major coastal ports in terms of customs clearance time.

In addition, Xiamen has been bolstering its efforts to optimize industrial structures, explore markets, build new brands, and cultivate new business formats to fuel the continuous development of the city's foreign trade.

Xiamen's annual import and export volume increased from $74.49 billion in 2012 to $137.35 billion in 2021, with an average annual growth rate of 7.03 percent.

The city's import and export volume in 2021 accounted for 48.1 percent of Fujian province's total and its scale was rated eighth nationwide.

Xiamen has maintained seventh place for many years among the top 100 foreign trade cities in the country, which is selected by the General Administration of Customs every year, displaying the city's advantageous foreign trade competitiveness.

In addition, Xiamen was authorized to pilot a slew of projects such as a cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone, the first batch of pilot used car exporters, an import trade promotion and innovation demonstration zone, a pilot zone for the comprehensive deepening of innovation and development of trade in services, a national cultural export base, and a national digital service export to further enhance the city's foreign trade.