The inaugural Weifang International E-commerce Expo was held in Shandong province's Weifang city from May 26 to 28 to highlight the city's economic development achievements over the years and stimulate the growth of the local e-commerce industry.

Feng Bo, director of the Weifang bureau of commerce, said that in April 2020, Weifang was approved by the State Council to build the China (Weifang) Cross-border E-commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone.

The city has taken the chance to set up an e-commerce development and service center and issued policies for facilitating high-quality development of cross-border e-commerce, Feng said.

The expo's exhibition area spanned 20,000 square meters and comprised nine sectors: e-commerce platforms and service providers, Weifang's key industries, a domestic high-quality product exhibition area, an imported product exhibition area, a real estate project exhibition area, as well as exhibitions showcasing the achievements of the China (Weifang) Cross-border E-commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone, the Weifang Comprehensive Bonded Zone, the Weifang Cross-border E-commerce Research Institute, and the Shandong Signature Industry Exhibition Area.

In addition to the exhibition, several supplementary activities took place during the event, including the 2023 World E-commerce Conference. These activities provided distinct services, such as brand showcasing, product promotion, information release, and on-site contract signing for outstanding products.

The 2023 World E-commerce Conference took place on Friday. The heads of major e-commerce enterprises and institutions from over 10 countries and regions, such as Russia, France, Japan and the Republic of Korea participated.

The conference aimed to promote global exchanges and share experiences in e-commerce industry development; discuss trends in e-commerce development; and facilitate business opportunities.

The event also announced the "Top 10 E-Commerce Live Streaming Bases" and "Top 10 New Foreign Trade Formats" in Weifang. It provided a platform for a cross-border e-commerce-themed competition among business insiders in Shandong province.

The event also hosted the launch ceremony of a Weifang sellers' support program initiated by the e-commerce pioneer eBay and the standard formulation of burdock products.

On the same day, a cross-border e-commerce matchmaking event was held, which invited representatives from Weifang's key industrial clusters such as wood products, textiles, auto parts, gardening machinery, light industry craft, jewelry, musical instruments, building materials and other sectors. They were engaged in face-to-face negotiations with industry players.

Apart from the main events, a range of specialized promotion activities were held during the expo to promote commercialization.

On Saturday and Sunday, the organizers invited major business players and platforms to conduct on-site investigations of the city's counties, business clusters, and development zones, in an effort to bring more business opportunities to local enterprises.

The expo was hosted by the Shandong Department of Commerce and Weifang city government, and organized by the E-commerce Specialized Committee of China Association of Trade in Services and the Weifang Cross-border E-commerce Research Institute.

Su Jun, head of the E-commerce Specialized Committee of China Association of Trade in Services, said that the organizers made efforts to internationalize the event and improve its efficiency in order to achieve the goals of boosting the economy, driving consumption and promoting the development of the Weifang e-commerce industry.

The committee has invited institutions and enterprises from more than 10 countries and regions, including the United States, Russia, France, the ROK, Malaysia, Ireland, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh to enlarge this event's influence.

Besides eBay, this event has brought together well-known domestic and foreign e-vendors including JD.com, Amazon, AliExpress, mengxiang.com, Made-in-China.com, Lazada, Pinduoduo, Qoo10, and OZON, as well as more than 100 manufacturers and buyers from Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Yiwu, Ningbo, Qingdao and other cities in China, Su said.

In the past three years, the foreign trade volume of cross-border e-commerce increased from 140 million yuan ($19.8 million) in 2020 to 39 billion yuan in 2022. Currently, there are around 15,300 e-commerce enterprises and around 170,000 online stores in the city.

Foreigners conduct a livestreaming sale at the 2023 World E-commerce Conference held in Weifang, Shandong province. CHINA DAILY

A view of the city of Weifang. CHINA DAILY