Zhoushan in East China's Zhejiang province, along with another 49 cities, was designated as a pilot city for cross-border e-commerce imports, according to an official document issued on Jan 17.

The document was jointly made and released by the Ministry of Commerce, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Customs, State Taxation Administration, and State Administration for Market Regulation.

The city can now provide online purchase bonded import services, according to the document.

Such services can enhance the competitiveness of the Zhoushan Port Free Trade Zone and attract more investment for the city, said experts.

In recent years, the Zhoushan Port Free Trade Zone has been working to boost e-commerce and has already launched an online e-commerce information platform and started to cooperate with several e-commerce companies, including Tmall.

Since 2019, the Zhoushan municipal government has implemented a series of policies to support the development of cross-border e-commerce, said an official at the city's bureau of commerce.

According to latest data released by the General Administration of Customs, the total value of cross-border e-commerce imports in China amounted to 91.8 billion yuan ($13.3 billion) in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 16.9 percent.