Xu Wenze, head of a bearing product manufacturer based in east China’s Anhui province, previously struggled to export his bearing products. But after opening up a sales channel by cooperating with a foreign trade company called Yimi International Trading Co Ltd, his products started to enjoy sound overseas sales.

Established in 2015, Yimi has built smart exhibition stations in Belt and Road countries that incorporate storage and exhibition functions. The stations also provide customs clearance services for Chinese factories.

The company has built partnerships with local franchised stores through Chinese business-to-business platform eastIndus.com, designating those local stores as outlets to sell products from China and serve as one-stop procurement platforms of Chinese industrial products.

Thanks to Yimi’s strategy, Xu’s company exports 30 to 40 percent of products to relevant countries, and more than 100 types of Xu’s products are being sold on Yimi's platform.

Yimi is different in that it connects Chinese factories with overseas stores, and no intermediary agents are involved, according to Chen Genhua, founder of the company.

The company serves as a bridge that connects Chinese industrial products with the world, according to Chen, adding that Chinese manufacturers must improve the industrial chain, foster their star brands, and proactively take part in global competition.

More than 10,000 overseas distributors are available on Yimi’s sales platforms, 2,000 of which have already signed contracts with Yimi. Serving more than 300 registered Chinese distributors, Yimi sees transactions worth tens of millions of yuan every month.