Thriving cross-border e-commerce in NW China city wows foreign journalists

YINCHUAN, China, Dec. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The impressive development of cross-border e-commerce in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has left a lasting impression on journalists from international media outlets during a coverage tour this week.

Some 16 reporters from five countries including Russia, the Republic of Korea and Cuba visited an experimental zone of cross-border e-commerce business in Yinchuan, capital city of Ningxia, to deepen their understanding of the business sector.

For Maryna Belkova, a reporter for the Russian magazine "China and Russia" who has studied and lived in China for several years, this was her first visit to Ningxia. Proficient in Chinese, the journalist was keen to know the details of products, marketing strategies, inventory management and market coverage from the entrepreneurs operating in the experimental zone.

"I think cross-border e-commerce platforms are very important as they help introduce products from Ningxia and all of China to the rest of the world and facilitate foreign enterprises in finding business opportunities in China," she said.

Belkova noted that cross-border e-commerce has emerged as a highly promising sector for a growing number of Russian enterprises seeking cooperation with Chinese counterparts, as the two countries continue to deepen their ties.

"Developing cross-border e-commerce has a significant meaning for both of our countries in promoting industrial activities in all fields and stimulating economic growth," she said after visiting the experimental zone located near the Yinchuan international airport.

Isaura Diez Millan, a journalist from the Cuban news agency Prensa Latina, expressed admiration for the role played by e-commerce in promoting Ningxia's famous products like goji berries and wines in international markets and helping link the landlocked city with the rest of the world.

She noted that a Cuban-Chinese e-commerce platform, Dofimall, was formally launched in the Cuban capital Havana on Dec. 8, which aims to become the biggest virtual supply chain between the two countries.

Dofimall will be selling Chinese products including equipment and machinery for industrial and agricultural uses, automobiles, metal hardware, furniture, textile goods and leatherware.

"Cross-border e-commerce offers new opportunities for developing exchanges and cooperation between China and Cuba as well as China and Latin America. I am expecting to see my family and friends enjoy wines from Ningxia sold on this platform," she said.

As a major logistics center in northwest China, Yinchuan has in recent years been promoting cross-border e-commerce with the construction of a comprehensive bonded area and a comprehensive cross-border e-commerce experimental zone with national standards.

Measures are being implemented in the city to seize opportunities for international economic cooperation and trade. These efforts aim to elevate the city's performance in international economic interactions and bring about a substantial shift in overseas trade practices. 

The city has so far seen the registration of 483 cross-border e-commerce market entities which are selling products to 81 countries and regions in the world, with an annual transaction volume of 6.3 billion yuan (about 886 million U.S. dollars).

With e-commerce playing an increasingly important role, Yinchuan's foreign trade volume increased by 14.9 percent in the first 10 months this year compared with the same period last year.

"Taking advantage of the new opportunities brought about by cross-border e-commerce, many traditional companies engaged in foreign trade are undergoing a transformation and upgrading process by making full use of the internet to explore the international market," said Liu Zhiyong, head of the municipal commerce bureau of Yinchuan. 

Liu noted that the role played by cross-border e-commerce in promoting high-quality development of international trade has become more important in recent years.