Cargo trucks arrive at Taicang Port Free Trade Zone. [Photo/taicang.gov.cn]

Taicang Port Free Trade Zone in Taicang, Jiangsu province had an external trade volume of more than 371.62 million yuan ($57.73 million) during the first four months of the year, up 82.4 percent year-on-year, local media outlets reported on May 14.

The zone's import volume was 249.84 million yuan during this period, up 73.5 percent year-on-year, while its export volume was 121.78 million yuan, up 104 percent.

A staff member of the Taicang Port Administrative Committee said that they have been learning from the Suzhou area of the China (Jiangsu) Pilot Free Trade Zone and expanded tax reduction channels for companies engaged in cross-border e-commerce.

New import processes of customs clearance in Taicang and Suzhou are also helping businesses in the Yangtze River Delta region cut costs substantially.

As the nearest port to the estuary of the Yangtze River, Taicang Port has a coastline of 38.8 kilometers. Titled the "golden port "of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, it also serves as a turning basin for ships with weights of up to 50,000 tons.

In 2014, Taicang Port signed a cooperation agreement with Shanghai and initiated 41 routes from the port to Shanghai, as well as Zhoushan Port in Ningbo to promote the integration of the ports in the YRD region.

The zone is also being developed as "a cluster of overseas warehouses of Japanese companies" and a distribution center of materials for German-invested manufacturers, according to the committee.