Local govt supports trading business in Heilongjiang

After assisting in Customs examinations in Jixi, Heilongjiang province, employees of Heilongjiang Yili International Trade Co Ltd prepare numerous packages from different companies nationwide for export to Russia via Jixi's Mishan port — a journey of two days.

Founded in 2019, the company has developed into a full-chain foreign trade business enterprise involved in e-commerce, logistics and Customs clearance in Jixi.

The company has expanded its business to many regions and countries in Europe, such as Germany, Finland, France and Italy.

In the first seven months of this year, the company has declared 2.934 million orders of international express packages, with a total weight of 3,738 metric tons.

It has achieved a trade volume of 816 million yuan ($112 million) so far this year, a year-on-year increase of 100 percent.

Its foreign trade import and export scale continues to maintain its No 1 ranking among similar enterprises in the province.

In recent years, the local government has promoted a series of measures to smoothen the international logistics channel and help foreign trade enterprises accelerate their development.

"Mishan port is 110 kilometers away from here, the nearest one to us," said Zhao Ligang, general manager of Heilongjiang Yili.

Zhao said: "In the past, goods had to be transported to the port for Customs inspection first, during which all goods had to be unloaded for inspection and loaded again for export.

"With the coordination from the local government, Customs inspections can now be done within our company, as the equipment and inspectors are now settled here. We enjoy door-to-door service and goods can start their outbound trip directly after checks and packaging, saving a lot of time."

Such support enhanced Zhao's confidence in his businesses. "We will expand two new businesses on our platform and strive for a bigger role in boosting the nation's trade by providing better services for traders."

Wang Bo is a Customs official who has witnessed the company's development since he settled in the enterprise. "I recall that in the first several months since the company began operations in 2020, it logged only 290 cross-border packages. After we arranged staff members on 24-hour duty to ensure fluent Customs clearance, the number soared to nearly 1 million in 2021 and nearly 3 million in the first seven months this year."

To meet demand from cross-border business, the company developed an order and transportation management system to facilitate data management and improve the efficiency of order processing, to help customers follow the status of their goods at any time.

In addition, the company spent more than 500,000 yuan on intelligent sorting equipment to save on labor costs.

Zhao said: "We will continue investment in digitalization and smart equipment to better serve our customers at home and abroad. We also hope to contribute more wisdom to the high-quality development of the cross-border e-commerce export express industry."

According to local Customs, in the first seven months, total foreign trade of Jixi exceeded 6.29 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 105.7 percent. Exports reached 6.12 billion yuan, an increase of 103.6 percent, and imports reached 175 million yuan, up 219.6 percent, making Jixi the second-largest city in terms of foreign trade among its peers in Heilongjiang.