The inauguration ceremony of the Cross-Border Barter Trade Alliance and the launch ceremony of the Cross-Border Barter Trade Platform were held in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province on Sept 17.

The alliance, which features multiple industries covering international trade, logistics, and transportation, was jointly established by the Qingdao Free Trade Zone Management Committee and other major enterprises, attracting 92 members from 11 countries and regions, including Germany, India, as well as Brazil.

As an international platform with authoritative pricing and logistics storage functions, the alliance facilitates barter trade for countries that are short on foreign exchange reserves or whose local currencies fail to circulate in the international market.

The alliance also serves as an international platform for companies to release and resell goods exchanged from abroad.

"In addition, the platform also seeks to break restrictions on trading partners. For instance, China can export agricultural products to Africa to exchange for local African products, and then export them to other countries," said Wang Hui, the general secretary of the Cross-border Barter Trade Alliance.

Barter trade has accounted for 30 percent of the global trade volume, with most of the world's top 500 companies and listed companies participating in it. In 2020, the total value of barter trade reached 897.3 billion yuan ($132 billion), according to the official statistics of the General Administration of Customs.

Qingdao hosts the inauguration ceremony of the Cross-Border Barter Trade Alliance and the launch ceremony of the Cross-Border Barter Trade Platform on Sept 17. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]