Imports and exports in Taicang, a county-level city in East China's Jiangsu province, were valued at 34.51 billion yuan ($4.87 billion) in the first four months of this year, up 3.5 percent year-on-year, according to statistics from Taicang Customs.

In April alone, Taicang's foreign trade value hit 8.86 billion yuan, an uptick of 43.9 percent year-on-year.

One of the key reasons behind the increase was that foreign enterprises have taken a series of measures, including building smart workshops, developing new products, and finding target customers, to boost foreign trade.

Imports and exports among the city's foreign enterprises totaled 22 billion yuan in the January-April period, a year-on-year increase of 3.7 percent, accounting for 63.8 percent of the city's total.

Another significant contributor to the increase was that foreign trade to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative witnessed a dramatic increase, with imports and exports to these countries totaling 16.22 billion yuan over the period, a year-on-year increase of 7.1 percent.

The final factor in the sharp increase in foreign trade can be attributed to the city's favorable customs policies.

Taicang Customs has issued 1,376 RCEP certificates of origin to local enterprises this year, an uptick of 39.41 percent year-on-year, and this move has helped the enterprises save 17.69 million yuan in customs fees.

Great Orient Chemical (Taicang) Co, a Singaporean company focused on the manufacturing of surfactants and side products, is one of the beneficiaries of the policies.

Deng Shangli, manager of GOC's business department, said that his company has enjoyed tax benefits of 780,000 yuan while importing 19 million metric tons of liquid paraffin from Japan.