Yesterday, customs authorities in Lishui announced that a batch of 100 kg of Chinese toon (a type of vegetable) had departed from Qingtian by air to Japan. This marks another successful export following Qingtian’s previous shipments of bayberries, rice noodles, brown sugar, and Qiandiao Lake fish heads. With the strategic vision of “procuring nationwide, selling globally—making Qingtian the launchpad for Chinese products”, this southern Zhejiang county is leveraging its overseas Chinese networks and resources to introduce more premium domestic goods to international markets.

To ensure export quality, Qingtian has deepened collaboration with Lishui Customs, implementing pilot reforms for agricultural export inspections, establishing a dedicated testing center, and creating “green channels” for perishable products. These measures provide one-stop export services, including free quality inspections and around-the-clock customs clearance. “The clearance time has been cut by over 50%,” said Jin Suhong, head of Lishui Jitao Ecological Agriculture. “Our toon reaches Japan within 24 hours of packaging, with freshness comparable to locally sourced produce.”

To access the global market smoothly, a strong network of personal connections is crucial. As a hometown of overseas Chinese, Qingtian has a vast network of 381,000 overseas Chinese spread across 146 countries and regions, which has become the core engine for promoting “quality Chinese products” to the world. In December last year, Qingtian Zhongzhi Commodity Trading Co., Ltd. exported 26 tons of Xinjiang Aksu jujubes to Spain, thanks to the matchmaking by overseas Chinese. The company discovered through overseas Chinese channels that the Chinese community in Europe has a strong demand for high-quality jujubes, and as a logistics hub in southern Europe, Spain has huge market potential.

To further streamline exports, Qingtian has developed an integrated Agricultural Products City for procurement, processing, warehousing, and customs clearance. Supporting facilities include an exhibition hall for heritage agricultural products, an overseas procurement center, and a livestreaming base—forming a “1+N” export platform with over 1,000 food and agricultural items. To date, 576 products from local enterprises have reached 18 countries. Partnerships with logistics firms and producing regions ensure efficient transport, while Qingtian businesses handle overseas sales, creating a synergistic “complementary strengths” model.

Additionally, Qingtian has established the city’s first export supervision warehouse and a “bonded fly warehouse” with Ningbo Beilun. Leveraging its diaspora, it has built 119 overseas warehouses across 30+ countries (including Spain and Italy) for logistics, customs clearance, and distribution—six of which are provincial-level public overseas warehouses. This three-tier warehouse system has forged a global trade network, generating over $100 million in agricultural exports.

“Next, we’ll create an International Agricultural Trade Cooperation Center,” said a Qingtian Agricultural Tourism Development official. “This ‘three centers, one alliance’ framework—covering industry incubation, procurement, export services, and an overseas trade alliance—will build a full-chain commercial ecosystem to expand export volume, quality, and profitability.”