Li Suting, an administrator at Horgos Customs, said with the growing number of domestically made vehicles being exported, a special lane for commercial vehicles has been running at the customs clearance compound since Sept 2 last year.

"We have to clear about 500 commercial vehicles every day," Li said. "Besides going through the special lane, they can also use the fast-track clearance service. Meanwhile, more than 600 vehicles carrying daily necessities and fruit and vegetables will go through the Horgos road port on a daily basis."

According to Horgos Customs, from January to March this year, 75,000 vehicles for export passed through Horgos, representing a year-on-year increase of 13.7 percent. After arriving in Kazakhstan, they are then sold in other Central Asian countries and Russia.

With the Xinjiang pilot FTZ being established in November 2023, Horgos Customs has streamlined the import clearance process from nine steps to four, and the export clearance process from 12 steps to four through close coordination with customs and border inspection. The time it takes for a goods vehicle to go through customs clearance at the port has been reduced from two to three days, to just six hours, Li added.

"Thanks to the significant reduction in the export clearance process, the port clearance costs for businesses, including storage fees, handling fees, fees for regulatory warehouses and personnel costs, have been further reduced," Li said.

According to business estimates, each commercial vehicle can reduce its storage fees by at least 100 yuan ($13.85), and driver handling fees by 100 yuan. For heavy export vehicles, storage and handling costs can be reduced by 1,000 yuan per vehicle. Additionally, it is possible to reduce two or three field workers, administrative staff and other employees, with an expected cost reduction of at least 10,000 to 20,000 yuan per month, Horgos Customs said.

Horgos was once a busy passage used by traders traveling along the ancient Silk Road. As a border pass, it dates back more than 140 years. While it lost its shine after caravans faded into history, the Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, has revitalized the crossing.