FedEx Express, a unit of FedEx Corp, said on Wednesday that it had completed significant upgrades to its gateway facility in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, in a move that is expected to fortify its foothold in the ever-expanding Chinese market.

The company expanded its Shenzhen International Gateway at Baoan International Airport — one of the four major FedEx international gateways in China — to over 4,500 square meters, doubling the sorting capacity of packages and documents, while increasing freight handling capacity by 50 percent.

After the upgrades, the facility boasts an intelligent management system dubbed e-warehouse, the company said.

"Shenzhen, renowned for its trailblazing economic innovations, has always been a focal point in our growth strategy," said Robert Chu, vice-president of operations at FedEx China.

"Our expanded gateway represents a milestone in our commitment to Shenzhen and the broader South China region. By fostering a more efficient Customs clearance process, we aim to empower businesses here with a seamless international trade experience, bolstering their global competitiveness," Chu said.

As a robust engine of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Shenzhen has been the top foreign trade city in China for the past 30 consecutive years due to its efficient logistics systems and innovative measures such as the "Smooth Flow Plan" for sea and air ports.

Shenzhen Customs posted 675.2 billion yuan ($93.8 billion) in imports and exports in the first two months of this year, a robust year-on-year growth of 45 percent.

The data further cemented the city's position as a leader in the nation's cross-border e-commerce sector, which achieved an import and export volume of 326.53 billion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year growth of 74.4 percent.

In the first two months, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations became Shenzhen's largest trading partner, with trade value totaling 106.92 billion yuan, a 58.1 percent increase.

Wang Mingyong, deputy general manager of Shenzhen Guanxu Electronics, a headphone manufacturer, said: "Our company's export volume increased by 40 percent in the past two months, especially to the Philippines, where exports increased by eightfold compared to the same period last year."

Wang said that to further explore the ASEAN market, his company plans to establish an Amazon sales center in the Philippines in May and he is expecting a fivefold increase in overseas market exports this year.

Wang Zhen, vice-director of the Department of Regional Planning and Development at China Development Institute in Shenzhen, said that by leveraging their respective comparative advantages and thanks to Shenzhen's robust manufacturing industrial base, the scale of intermediate goods trade between Shenzhen and ASEAN continues to expand, while the momentum for open cooperation between Shenzhen and ASEAN is also growing stronger.