On Nov 16, a local resident surnamed Li in the Qingdao West Coast New Area picked up cosmetics from Japan, skincare products from South Korea and olive oil from Spain at the China-Japan-ROK Consumption Zone E-commerce Experience Center.

Li placed her orders and paid on the spot before providing her personal identification information and mobile number for customs online auditing. About five minutes later, a text message informed her that she could pick up her purchases at the designated area.

"This way of purchasing foreign goods is convenient and fast. The prices are also fair and the quality of the products is good," said Li.

Customers browse products at the China-Japan-ROK Consumption Zone E-commerce Experience Center. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The China-Japan-ROK Consumption Zone E-commerce Experience Center, which was put into operation on Aug 30, brings together trendy products from Japan and South Korea, as well as brands from other countries. Tens of thousands of imported products, including cosmetics, health care products, daily necessities, maternal and childcare products, and kitchen supplies, can be found at the center.

Customers of the center can enjoy a tariff waiver of up to 5,000 yuan ($733) for a single transaction and up to 26,000 yuan for the whole year.

The cross-border e-commerce platform is located in the Qingdao West Coast New Area Bonded Logistics Center, which is part of the Qingdao Area of the China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Workers sort packages at the Qingdao West Coast New Area Bonded Logistics Center. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In recent years, the Qingdao West Coast New Area has been encouraging the growth of cross-border e-commerce and other new business forms to foster new drivers of foreign trade.

The area boasts ideal geographical advantages as the Qingdao Area of the Shandong FTZ is located in the region. The center is also adjacent to the Qingdao Port and the multimodal transport logistics center.

As COVID-19 has dealt a heavy blow to traditional trade models, cross-border e-commerce has become a major driving force in stabilizing foreign trade, according to local authorities.

The area has launched supporting policies and introduced 78 e-commerce platforms, e-commerce enterprises, supply chain enterprises, and related facilitation agencies to facilitate cross-border e-commerce development.

Official data showed that from January to August this year, cross-border e-commerce in the Qingdao West Coast New Area was valued at 1.28 billion yuan ($195.07 million), a 4.5-fold increase from last year.