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Jiaxing Customs issued more than 46,000 certificates of origin, with a total value of 14 billion yuan ($2.17 billion) in exports, to companies exporting to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative in the first eight months of the year, local media reported.

The figures accounted for 57 percent and 62 percent of the total amounts from Jiaxing Customs respectively.

As the BRI has been further promoted, the city's trade with BRI countries and regions has also prospered.

In recent years, Jiaxing-made plastics, chemicals, steel products, electrical machinery, and apparel have been exported to more international markets due to the BRI.

Certificates of origins, which are documents also known as COs, declare in which country a commodity or good was manufactured.

Those COs issued by Jiaxing Customs have assisted exported cargo reduce import duty fees and accelerated their customs clearance, helping more foreign trade companies expand their presence in BRI countries and regions.

"Using project supplies as an example, the CO reduced and even exempted our import duty fees, which has helped the successful operation of our project in Indonesia," said Wu Chaoling, deputy general manager of the purchasing department of Jiaxing-based Zhenshi Holding Group Co Ltd.

In 2018, Zhenshi invested in a ferronickel project in the country. Since then, it has applied for more than 120 COs, exempting them from nearly 13.5 million yuan in duty fees.

To further facilitate local companies, Jiaxing Customs allows them to apply for COs online and print the certificate all by themselves.

The ferronickel project invested in by Zhenshi Holding Group Co Ltd is put into operation in 2020. [Photo/cnjxol.com]