On June 6, the Information Office of Qingdao Municipal People's Government held a press conference to update on the Yellow River Basin Cross-border E-commerce Expo 2025. Sui Bin, member of the Leading Party Members' Group of Huangdao District Government, member of the Work Committee of China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone Qingdao Area (SDPFTZ Qingdao Area), and Deputy Director of the Administrative Committee of SDPFTZ Qingdao Area; Liu Zhiyong, Deputy Director of the Office of Department of Commerce of Shandong Province; Wang Dakun, Deputy Director of Qingdao Trade Development Service Center, attended the press conference and answered questions from reporters.
With approval, the Qingdao Municipal People's Government, the Department of Commerce of Shandong Province, and the Trade Development Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce will hold the 4th Yellow River Basin Cross-border E-commerce Expo at the Golden Beach Beer City in the Qingdao West Coast New Area from June 12 to 14, under the theme of "Along the Yellow River and Silk Road, Across the Sea to the World."
Background and significance
Holding the Yellow River Basin Cross-border E-commerce Expo is a vivid practice of thoroughly implementing the instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping in his important speech at the symposium on deepening the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin and during his inspection in Shandong. In January 2022, the 7th Session of the 13th People's Congress of Shandong Province proposed to hold the Yellow River Basin Cross-border E-commerce Expo. In 2023, the Expo was included in the Plan for Deepening Reform and Innovation of China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone by the People's Government of Shandong Province and listed as one of the key cross-border e-commerce expos supported by the Action Plan for Leapfrog Development of Cross-border E-commerce in Shandong Province (2023-2025). In September 2023, it was listed as one of the ten expos reserved by the Qingdao Municipal People's Government. In 2025, it was listed as the only expo hosted by the Department of Commerce of Shandong Province.
Since 2022, the Expo has been successfully held for three sessions. It has achieved fruitful results in "building consensus on development," "developing an exchange platform," "promoting trade and commerce matchmaking," "helping industries go global," and "promoting the in-depth development of East-West cooperation." The Expo has gathered 33,000 purchasers along the Yellow River Basin and at home and abroad, and achieved a total of RMB 1.3 billion in production and supply matchmaking. The Expo has become an important platform developed by Shandong Province in its effort to implement China's major strategy for the Yellow River thoroughly. It has set a positive example for provinces in the Yellow River Basin to build a cross-border e-commerce industry development platform and a new digital trade cooperation platform.
The Expo of this edition marks a significant practice in implementing the spirit of the 3rd Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and the steady expansion of institutional opening up. Focusing on selecting hot products, seeking platforms, and developing business chains and ecosystems, it aims to gather global resources to create a cross-border ecosystem covering the entire industrial chain while targeting cross-border enterprises' pain points. Moreover, this Expo will assist enterprises in resolving issues such as high logistics costs, challenging brand upgrades, and insufficient expansion in emerging markets. It is expected to open a new chapter for the cross-border e-commerce development in the Yellow River Basin.
This Expo explores innovative models and pathways for market-oriented operations, professional advancement, and international development. By integrating diverse formats like "exhibition + conference + festival," it will establish a prominent summer gathering for China's cross-border e-commerce sector. Leveraging the expo's clustering and spillover effects, it aims to develop a cross-border e-commerce ecosystem hub in North China and support the nine provinces in the Yellow River Basin to achieve advancements in the quality and efficiency of cross-border e-commerce.
Besides, this Expo focuses on assisting enterprises in accessing global resources and participating in markets worldwide. It introduces "direct sourcing from origin factories," pioneers the "characteristic industries of North China" linkage model, and implements decision-making empowered by "big data + artificial intelligence." By offering three-dimensional support of "policy incentives + data empowerment + comprehensive services," it enables enterprises to enter the global market with lowered barriers and improved efficiency, capturing opportunities in emerging cross-border ventures.
Overview of this Expo
The Yellow River Basin Cross-border E-commerce Expo 2025, co-organized by the Qingdao Municipal People's Government, the Department of Commerce of Shandong Province, and the Trade Development Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce, has received substantial support from the commerce departments of eight provinces (regions): Shanxi Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Henan Province, Sichuan Province, Shaanxi Province, Gansu Province, Qinghai Province, and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, along with the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Department of Commerce. Additionally, the event is undertaken by the Bureau of Commerce, Qingdao, the Qingdao West Coast New Area Administrative Committee, and the Administrative Committee of SDPFTZ Qingdao Area. It will be implemented by Qingdao Quanlian Huihai International Conference and Exhibition Co., Ltd.
The total planned area of this Expo spans 23,000 square meters. It comprises nine exhibition halls: Hall 1 for Cross-border Import and Export, Hall 2 and Hall 9 for Cross-border E-commerce Platform Services, Hall 3 for Yellow River Basin Industries and Comprehensive Pilot Zones, Hall 4 for Characteristic Industries in North China, Hall 5 for Comprehensive Services, Hall 6 for Daily Necessities and Gifts, and Hall 7 and Hall 8 for Source Factories. This event brings together globally recognized cross-border e-commerce platforms and service providers, as well as provincial (regional) enterprises from the Yellow River Basin and Xinjiang's specialty industrial zones. It integrates related businesses from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and other areas.
The current edition will feature 660 standard booths, attracting over 55 industrial clusters from 18 provinces (including autonomous regions and municipalities) in China. Additionally, more than 500 enterprises have registered to exhibit, with over 40 cross-border e-commerce platforms. More than 50,000 visitors are expected to attend.
This Expo has curated a focused, five-dimensional activity framework encompassing "Trend Release—Platform Collaboration—Seller Incubation—Transformation Empowerment—Trade Integration." Featured alongside are 17 associated events, including the Yellow River Basin Cross-Border E-Commerce Development Sharing Conference, One-Stop Overseas Expansion through Trending Platforms and Emerging Markets, Successful Seller Experience Sharing Workshop, Seller Growth Camp, Tsingtao Beer Cross-Border Night, among others, all aimed at helping enterprises swiftly enter the cross-border e-commerce arena and advancing integration of industrial capacities within the Yellow River Basin into the global value chain.
Key features and attractions of this Expo
This Expo thoroughly embraces the new development philosophy, emphasizing five fundamental principles: innovation, coordination, green, openness, and shared benefits. It aims to establish the cross-border e-commerce industrial hub of North China and foster the high-quality development of this sector across the nine provinces within the Yellow River Basin.
Driven by innovation, joint efforts will be made to develop a new model of industrial linkage
This Expo has introduced the "characteristic industries of North China" linkage model, challenging the conventional singular display approach of traditional expos. By deeply integrating "dedicated exhibition halls" and "industry exhibition areas," it creates a precise connection platform for characteristic industries of North China to engage with the global market.
The Hall for Characteristic Industries in North China showcases local characteristic industries and nationally recognized geographical indication products. Leveraging immersive exhibition displays and cross-border business connections, it fosters efficient integration of local premium products into domestic and international markets, establishes a linkage system featuring a "comprehensive presentation of North China characteristic industries + precise resource matchmaking," and realizes the clustering effect of specialized industries.
"Coordination" linkage to build a new pattern of community along the Yellow River
Against the backdrop of regional coordinated development and deepening implementation of the opening-up strategy, the Yellow River Basin Cross-border E-commerce Expo is becoming a core hub for dual circulation that connects the east and west and links China and the world. This Expo adopts the core positioning of "Dual Circulation Empowering Industrial Belts," utilizing a precise demand map derived from a prior inspection titled "Entering the Yellow River Basin Industrial Belt." Incorporating the innovative model of "Provincial and Municipal Delegations with Industrial Chain Panoramic Display," it establishes a comprehensive empowerment system spanning the entire chain of "Demand Matchmaking—Resource Allocation—Achievement Transformation." Coordinating with nine provinces in the Yellow River Basin and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Expo creates pivotal strategic ties between the Yellow River Economic Belt and the westward openness of the "Belt and Road" initiative, infusing fresh momentum into the high-quality development of coastal industrial belts.
In addition, this Expo builds upon regional industrial characteristics, leveraging Qingdao's strategic locational advantage of "linking Japan and South Korea in the east and the Yellow River in the west." By integrating logistics resources such as Qingdao Port's sea-rail intermodal transportation, Zhengzhou's China-Europe Railway Express Logistics Hub, and Xi'an's Airport Specialized Line, it offers enterprises seamless support processes extending from product selection, logistics, and payment to localized operations. This facilitates the efficient integration of Yellow River Basin enterprises into the global value chain, inaugurating a new era of inland cross-border expansion.
Guided by "green philosophy," this Expo will reshape a new model of low-carbon practice
This Expo will be organized under the green philosophy, deeply integrating digital technology and fully promoting paperless services. Through a series of innovative measures such as electronic visitor passes, electronic maps, digital visitor guides, and e-brochures, the event significantly enhances paperless organization. The material recycling rate during the event is expected to surpass 80%, with aluminum alloy and truss reusable structures achieving 100% reusability. Booth decorations utilize water-based, eco-friendly stickers and food-grade Boeing PVC films to minimize pollution. In addition, materials such as flame-retardant carpets, degradable honeycomb panels, and recycled fiber eco-tarpaulins, all certified by the Global Recycled Standard (GRS), provide exemplary practices for achieving low-carbon transformation within the exhibition industry.
"Open" for integration, connecting new hubs to reach the global market
DHgate and Taobao have initiated a surge in downloads within the U.S. market. This exceptional growth exemplifies how global cross-border e-commerce platforms accelerate to empower China's industries to expand internationally. This Expo will achieve breakthroughs in cross-border e-commerce platforms by gathering over 40 globally recognized cross-border e-commerce platforms for the first time. The participating platforms include Amazon Global Selling, Alibaba.com, and more than 20 well-known e-commerce platforms globally, such as Wildberries and YandexMarket, two leading e-commerce platforms in Russia, BOL.com, the largest e-commerce platform in the Netherlands, and Voghion, a European comprehensive category e-commerce platform. These platforms cover such core markets as Europe, America, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. A special emerging market zone is set up to tap trillion yuan-level business opportunities in Russia, the Middle East, and Latin America. This Expo serves not only as a concentrated exhibition of the platforms' strengths but also as a pivotal strategic foundation for Chinese enterprises to build global connections and plan for the future.
"Sharing" opportunities to reach win-win outcomes and accessing new advantages brought by the Expo
Sharing procurement channels of source factories This Expo carefully selects certified factories, creating a comprehensive "factory-to-seller" direct procurement channel that eliminates intermediary processes, achieving a direct procurement cost reduction of over 20%. All source factories provide direct supply at free on board (FOB) prices, ensuring "transparent source quotations and worry-free cross-border exports" and offering a seamless one-stop procurement solution for cross-border sellers.
Sharing a comprehensive supply and procurement service that integrates online and offline resources. This Expo will establish an offline VIP seller connection area, bringing together top Amazon sellers and high-quality overseas buyers. Through one-on-one consultations and pre-releases of buyer requirements, "factory-to-trade direct linkage" and "integrated overseas procurement" will be achieved. The online supply and procurement zone utilizes an intelligent system to provide continuous matchmaking services throughout 365 days, creating an efficient supply and procurement loop featuring "smart matchmaking and in-depth negotiations."
Sharing a full-cycle digital service ecosystem. This Expo has established a comprehensive "pre-Expo, during-Expo, and post-Expo" industrial empowerment framework. By utilizing big data to align industrial belt supply with market demand, leveraging AI for real-time procurement behavior analysis and intelligent solution recommendations, and maintaining official communities for ongoing business opportunity notifications and compliance consulting, the value derived from a single Expo is extended to a year-round operational ecosystem. At the same time, this Expo will bring together authoritative experts in the e-commerce sector, mainstream platform policy consultants, and top seller resources to provide customized going-global solutions for high-frequency business pain points of enterprises and solve strategic decision-making problems.
As the opening of the Yellow River Basin Cross-border E-commerce Expo 2025 approaches, this grand event, which gathers industry wisdom and links global opportunities, is ready to go. With higher standards and better services, it is positioned as a high-standard and high-level industry event to inject new vitality into the development of cross-border e-commerce ecology in the Yellow River Basin, accumulate more experience, and explore more new paths to accelerate China's transformation into a trader of quality.
