Jiangyin Port in Fuzhou city has witnessed a significant growth in the import of finished automobiles this year.

Hundreds of imported cars at a parking lot at Jiangyin Port, Fuzhou, Fujian province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Official statistics shows that the port has handled 8,430 vehicles throughout the first 11 months, up 122 percent over the previous year. Among them, 1,814 were brought in through foreign trade, which is nearly a 6-fold increase year-on-year.

The number of imported automobiles through foreign trades at Jiangyin Port in the first 10 months ranks first among Chinese ports which have been given the finished vehicle import rights in recent years, according to China's customs authority.

The State Council granted the privilege to Jiangyin Port in 2012, making it the first and only port in Fujian province eligible for the import of finished automobiles. It started taking in finished cars after passing examinations by central departments in Jan 2013.

To date, the Port has planned an area of 49,000 sq meters for imported vehicles, including 20,000 sq meters with 1,096 parking spaces for customs supervision, and 29,000 sq meters with 1,200 parking spaces for quality inspection. It is designed to be able to handle 100,000 vehicles every year.

In addition, the Port has some 200,000 sq-meters of vacant lots for expansion of the business.

Compared with the other 16 ports with finished automobile import rights, Jiangyin Port's biggest competitiveness is its relation with Taiwan. With a number of preferential policies, it has built on the success in this sector, providing convenience for car imports in Fujian and its adjacent areas, and boosting the establishment of a base for cross-Straits automobile logistics cooperation.

The customs clearance and quality inspection time for an automobile at the Port is 5 to 7 days, which is at an advanced level for China.

Meanwhile, the Jiangyin Port authority has worked with the railway sector in Jiangxi province to open special freight lines with lower transportation costs. The move will further promote the port's automobile importing business among inland provinces.

To improve the quality of the business, the Port has attracted more than 40 enterprises engaged in finished automobile imports to settle into a bonded zone in Fuzhou.

Looking to the future, Zheng Ming, General Manager of the FCT Group which operates the port, said, "We will strive to expand the market and highlight finished-car imports and exports, and make Jiangyin Port become a cross-Straits automobile operating center."