Buying goods made overseas is about to get easier. Thanks to the increasing demand of cross-border e-commerce platforms, the foreign-made products many know and love will now enjoy fewer taxes. CGTN's Zhao Yunfei shows us how central China's Henan Province is promoting an online model of the Belt and Road Initiative.

When buying something from overseas, consumers usually worry about two things. High costs due to tariffs, and low quality assurance. Cross-border e-commerce, like Xiaohongshu, offers a solution. Products overseas are shipped to this warehouse located in a tax-protected zone in central China's Henan Province. They don't go through customs procedures until buyers place their orders.

LUO TONG DIRECTOR, XIAOHONGSHU WAREHOUSE "We have provided a platform that ensures the quality of the goods. This model can boost customers' loyalty and our credibility. That's the biggest advantage of cross-border e-commerce."

Baby products are one of the main items sold on e-commerce platforms. China's milk powder industry still suffers from a food quality scandal that surfaced in 2008. Since then, many parents have opted to buy foreign products via cross-border purchasing agents. Still, quality can't be guaranteed. The government established an e-commerce bonded mode to waive customs taxes on foreign products. But the precondition is you have to be a real customer, not a retailer.

The model can also be applied offline like at this shop. But unlike buying items from an ordinary store, you need to show your ID and pay with an account that matches your name.

ZHAO YUNFEI ZHENGZHOU, HENAN PROVINCE "Before I walk away with the stuff I bought, I have to standby for a few minutes as this screen the customs system is verifying my ID and clearing the item."

WANG LI CUSTOMER "We come here to buy things for our child and my wife. My wife is having our second child. We trust the quality of the products here. Online-to-offline shopping is a new idea for us."

China wants to be the game changer for international trade amid the tide of anti-globalization. The nation is constantly tweaking its laws and regulations on cross-border e-commerce as its market scale reached 9.1 trillion yuan, or 1.36 trillion US dollars in 2018.

ZHANG HONGCHAO, VICE PRESIDENT HENAN IMPORTED MATERIALS PUBLIC BONDED CENTER GROUP "We will do cross-border exporting at the next step. We will reverse the current model. We will sell Chinese products to the rest of the world and boost other people's quality of life, too."

The bonded center says, they are finding ways to increase the efficiency of buying and selling. And the Belt and Road framework can help increase connectivity among countries to enhance trade.

ZHANG HONGCHAO, VICE PRESIDENT HENAN IMPORTED MATERIALS PUBLIC BONDED CENTER GROUP "China's Belt and Road initiative pursues common prosperity. Our importing and exporting e-commerce mode are the real practices of the initiative."

ZHAO YUNFEI ZHENGZHOU, HENAN PROVINCE "As an inland city, Zhengzhou is probably not an ideal location to participate to the global trade. But the idea of a cyber Belt and Road route connecting central China's Henan province with the rest of the world. Zhao Yunfei, CGTN, Zhengzhou, Henan Province."