NANNING -- The pilot free trade zone (FTZ) in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region saw its import and export of cross-border e-commerce hit 3.51 billion yuan ($520 million) in the first quarter of 2022, up 108.4 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the FTZ's cross-border e-commerce generated import and export value of some 10.2 billion yuan in 2021, an increase of 259 percent from the previous year, according to the regional department of commerce.

Currently, the FTZ has established a major cross-border e-commerce logistics channel for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and launched 10 air routes to countries including Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, said Diao Weihong, deputy director of the regional department of commerce.

To date, over 100 cross-border e-commerce companies have been operating in the FTZ.

The FTZ will innovate the development policies and rules of cross-border e-commerce, build an e-commerce ecosystem of win-win cooperation, and promote cross-border e-commerce in Guangxi for breakthroughs, Diao added.