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Invest Shanghai
The Shanghai Hongqiao International Central Business District witnessed a remarkable surge in cross-border e-commerce in the first half of this year, backed by significant advancements in smart regulation, digital logistics, and the application of artificial intelligence technologies.
The volume of imports and exports exceeded 74.58 million orders with a transaction value of more than 12.6 billion yuan ($1.86 billion), both marking 1.6-fold year-on-year increases.
The cross-border e-commerce imports of the bonded logistics center (Type B) of Hongqiao International CBD accounted for approximately 63 percent of the city's total, with imports rising by 18 percent year-on-year. This has allowed the district to maintain its leading position in bonded imports in Shanghai.
The Hongqiao "Cross-Border E-Commerce + Industrial Belt" Pilot Zone has attracted 527 enterprises in total, with cumulative trade surpassing 14 billion yuan. In the first half of the year alone, nearly 200 new cross-border e-commerce companies were established, reflecting a growth of over 70 percent year-on-year.
The CBD emphasized the integration of cross-border e-commerce with industries in the region. By establishing the city's only offline service center for its cross-border public service platform, it consolidated business, tax and customs services, cutting processing time by half.
Focusing on the five core industrial belts in the Yangtze River Delta region - health and leisure, smart manufacturing, fashion and beauty, industrial products, and home appliances and furnishings - the district has built bridges with consulates and overseas chambers of commerce from countries like Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Singapore. This initiative includes specialized e-commerce training and supply-demand matchmaking events, accelerating the digital transformation of traditional manufacturing sectors.
Innovations in technology have flourished, particularly in smart regulation and logistics, reducing comprehensive package costs by 50 percent and improving delivery efficiency by over 50 percent.
In addition, the district strengthened efforts to help enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta expand their international footprint in the first half of this year by promoting the use of overseas warehouse service platforms, creating a compliance chain covering customs, foreign exchange, and taxes. This had contributed to a nearly 215-fold year-on-year increase in exports under customs supervision code "9810" and led to the introduction of a policy of "tax refund upon departure" for taxpayers exporting goods to overseas warehouses.
The Hongqiao Overseas Development Service Center provided localized legal and financial services and other support, extending its network to 1,256 cities in 173 countries and regions.
Moreover, Alibaba International Station facilitated more than $1 billion in online transactions for Shanghai's cross-border e-commerce enterprises.
The district also emphasized talent development through initiatives like the Hongqiao Cross-Border E-Commerce Training Program and the International Talent Development Program, training over 21,000 participants as of June, including 250 international students from developing countries.