In a strategic move to boost the international presence of its commercial sector, Linyi in Shandong province is harnessing the Belt and Road Initiative to transform itself from a national distribution and logistics hub into a key player on the international stage.

"In 2025, we organized 1,667 enterprises to explore overseas markets in partner countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and welcome 49,000 international buyers," Zhang Baoliang, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress and Party secretary of Linyi, said.

Last year, 506 China-Europe freight trains arrived at or departed from the city, further strengthening Linyi's connectivity with overseas markets.

Linyi has also focused on developing overseas warehouses and promoting cross-border e-commerce, establishing a marketing network that now covers 30 countries.

These efforts are reinforced by events such as the RCEP (Shandong) import expo, which have helped create strong links between Linyi's supply chains and global procurement networks.

Zhang said that 104 such events were held in 2025, generating an intended transaction volume of 24.85 billion yuan ($3.6 billion).

"Digitalization plays an important role in driving the global reach of our city," said Zhang.

Linyi has developed a comprehensive big data platform for its commerce and logistics industry, enabling full-process online operations encompassing product display, warehousing, transactions and distribution.

This digital infrastructure has significantly improved operational efficiency, which slashes matching time for vehicles, cargo and personnel from one day to just 86 minutes, achieving an 11 percent cost reduction.

Last year, Linyi was designated as Shandong's sole national pilot city for open logistics data interconnection.

Leveraging this, the city has developed nine high-quality datasets at the national and provincial levels, comprehensively covering all factors of the commercial logistics industry.

Looking ahead, Linyi is committed to positioning itself as a dual hub for international commodity distribution and logistics, aiming to transform itself from "China's big bazaar" into a "world-class supermarket", Zhang said.