NANJING -- A cargo truck loaded with a standard container of goods departing from Germany arrived in the city of Taicang in East China's Jiangsu province on Sunday night, marking the first direct cargo truck between Taicang and Germany since the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The cargo truck, belonging to Sino-Europe Trucking (Jiangsu) Logistics Service Co Ltd left the German city of Duisburg on Feb 15 and arrived at Taicang on March 1 after traveling about 12,000 km.

Affected by the epidemic, many overseas air cargo and sea cargo routes have canceled or reduced transportation services to China, according to Hu Rongyi, general manager of the company.

The company decided to resume its cargo truck service from Germany to Taicang, which is about 40 percent cheaper than the cost of air freight.

In order to provide support for more companies to lower logistics costs and resume production, Hu said the company has increased the frequency of trucks to four a week since the Spring Festival holiday.

So far, the company has transported over 50 batches of commodities worth 30 million yuan (about $4.3 million).

Since the first German company settled in Taicang in 1993, an increasing number of German companies have come to the city, covering a wide range of fields such as high-end equipment manufacturing and auto parts.

Taicang has also set up platforms to promote the development of German enterprises there, including a cooperation and innovation park and a China-Germany international education park.