'LINYI HAS EVERY PRODUCT YOU NEED'

When Emmanuel Jerry Donkor, a Ghanaian student of Shandong First Medical University, first came to Linyi in Shandong province 10 years ago, he was impressed by its clean environment, hospitable people and energetic urban vibe.

He said: "I had a very close friend doing foreign trade in Linyi at that time. He showed me around different commodity markets and products here, and I realized if I want to do this business, Linyi is the best place, so I relocated to the city and started my own foreign trade career."

Today, Donkor is in charge of the Nzema Chamber of Commerce's Linyi office, coordinating goods exported from Linyi to Ghana.

In the Linyi Trade City, buyers can get any products they're looking for, from machinery to agricultural products and appliances to everything else, he said.

"They are reasonably priced and, in general, the quality is also very good," Donkor said, adding that his customers in Ghana import a wide range of goods from the mall every year, spanning household and industrial sectors.

After a decade of living in Linyi, Donkor has developed deep emotional connections with the city and its people.

"It has everything that you dream of (in) a city; nice people, good food, fine weather, and huge amounts of quality products at your doorstep. Even though it's not like the first-tier metropolis, I think it's a very good city," he said.

Donkor highlighted the city's business environment, which is friendly and attractive to foreign buyers and investors.

"For example, when my clients from Ghana visit Linyi for meetings and procurement, they can receive flight ticket subsidies covering up to 80 percent of the cost," he said. "Policies like this stepped up our confidence in doing long-term business here."

Donkor's feelings and experiences were echoed by Sangak Mriov, a buyer from Tajikistan, who has been working in Linyi for a year.

"I was brought to the trade city by my friend. We participated in exchange meetings together, got to know many factories, and explored a wide range of products," he said.

Mriov added that the best thing is that he can source all the products he needs through the trade city in one go, which is extremely convenient and efficient.

"Besides that, goods can be directly shipped to my country via Linyi's strong logistics network and the shipping costs are very affordable," he said.

Going digital

What excited Donkor and Mriov even more was the launch of the digital platform "Linyi Trade City. China-market" in 2024. Powered by digital technologies, the platform gathers more than 5,100 shops, 55,000 products and numerous trade service suppliers, offering a one-stop solution for global buyers and sellers.

"Now my customers in Ghana can check the products first themselves on the platform and give me their feedback, then I go to factories for negotiations and further inspections," Donkor said.

To boost cross-border trade and expand market reach for merchants, the platform has also built digital malls, which are designed to cater to buyers from the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Thailand.

Additionally, users on the platform are provided with efficient foreign trade services involving customs declaration, foreign exchange, international logistics and foreign exhibitions.

"We previously tried expanding into overseas markets by ourselves but encountered challenges in languages, customs declaration procedures and logistics costs," said Du Xianbao, general manager of Linyi Yunze Furniture.

"Now we just need to upload production information onto the platform, and the artificial intelligence-driven assistant automatically translates and displays it in the mall. After that, from customs clearance to tax refunds, the platform handles every phase perfectly, cutting great operational costs for us," Du said.

It's an ideal choice for companies seeking efficient overseas expansion, he added.

Since the platform started operations in October 2024, it has achieved a transaction volume of 100 million yuan ($13.92 million).

The platform's operator SDT has outlined a three-year plan to launch digital malls in 100 countries and create a tripartite operational model integrating online exhibition halls, physical product exhibition centers, and overseas warehouse and fulfillment systems.

Local officials said the digital platform strengthens Linyi's position as a trade hub, linking traditional wholesale markets with global e-commerce trends.

It's also a key step for the trade city's digital transformation, driving its sustained growth, they added.

Based on its traditional advantages, Linyi has been moving forward with digital reforms in its commerce and logistics industries, embracing cutting-edge technologies in all aspects of the trade city.

Linyi now has two national e-commerce demonstration bases and more than 50 e-commerce industrial parks with 210,000 shops. Its online retail sales reached 82.54 billion yuan in 2024, marking a year-on-year increase of 11 percent.

The Lanhua Cross-border E-commerce Industrial Park, launched in 2023, is the city's first industrial park supporting the entire cross-border e-commerce supply chain. It ranges from e-commerce training and incubation to international logistics, overseas warehousing and financial payment. Currently, there are 79 companies in the park.

The booming e-commerce trade has also placed greater demands on logistics, accelerating its digital transformation.

As China's capital of logistics, Linyi has more than 4,000 enterprises in the logistics industry, with a daily cargo shipment volume of 900,000 metric tons, ranking first among China's prefecture-level cities.

In June 2024, the Linyi Commerce and Logistics Big Data Platform was officially launched, marking a new phase of Linyi's commerce and logistics industry in the digital era, local officials said.

Leveraging modern information technology, such as cloud computing and big data, the platform has optimized the allocation of the city's logistics resources.

These include drivers, trucks and cargo, enhancing the overall efficiency for businesses and reducing costs, according to its operator Linyi Unidata Logistics Group.

By February, approximately 450,000 trucks and 3,000 transport routes had been registered on the platform as well as the information of 20,000 drivers.