Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Guo Ling, Fan Qiongyan) news: On August 18, 2023, walking into the Xinjiang Silutong Information Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Silutong Information Company"), staff were busy working in the bright office, and the business development roadmap that occupied the whole wall attracted people’s eyes.

This roadmap shows that Silutong Information Company takes Urumqi City as its headquarter, with Yiwu and Guangzhou as its business warehouses, and then extends the company's business to five Central Asian countries by means of automobiles, China-Europe freight trains, and other means of transportation. "This roadmap was originally just a blueprint of general manager Ms. Meng, but it has been fully realized through the development of the company over the years. Our future goal is to extend our business to Europe," said Hu Wanyu, head of the international marketing department of the company, standing in front of the roadmap.

Ms. Meng, whom Hu Wanyu mentioned, is Meng Xiuli, the general manager of Silutong Information Company and the founder of the OWTOT online trading platform.

Photo shows Meng Xiuli participates in an activity related to the Belt and Road Initiative. (Photo offered by Xinjiang Silutong Information Technology Co., Ltd.)

Silutong Information Company has been engaged in the export trade of five Central Asian countries for many years, and it has built a cross-border e-commerce platform, OWTOT online trading platform, which is the first cross-border e-commerce B2B trading platform in Xinjiang that integrates online trade, offline automobile transportation, China-Europe freight train transportation, customs clearance and inspection, safe payment, tax refund on exchange settlement and so on.

"I have 15 minutes of free time, let's hurry up." Meng Xiuli, dressed in a lavender suit with short hair, took a sip of water, put her cell phone on mute, and started being interviewed.

Meng Xiuli gave the reporters the first impression that she was rigorous and capable. In the promotional video of Silutong Information Company, reporters saw her signing contracts with domestic and foreign enterprises and organizations. Her footprints can be seen in five Central Asian countries.

It is incredible that the founder of this cross-border e-commerce platform, was once a person who couldn’t even shop online. Meng Xiuli not only caught up with the domestic rise of the "Internet +" boom, but also grasped the opportunities brought by the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative to Xinjiang, and changed from a traditional foreign trade merchant to an executive of a comprehensive foreign trade service platform. Now her company is flourishing.

In 2014, she went to Guangzhou on a business trip, and the online ticket ordering made her deeply realize the power of the Internet. After years of working in the field of cross-border trade, she keenly noticed the challenges and opportunities brought by the Internet for traditional foreign trade, and developed the idea of building a cross-border e-commerce platform. "Thanks to the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, our enterprises have a clear idea and direction for developing international trade." Meng Xiuli said.

Meng Xiuli has been cramming professional knowledge such as coding and database. Although experiencing failure in the initial stage, Meng Xiuli's future plan has become more and more clear.

In 2016, Meng Xiuli established Silutong Information Technology Co., Ltd., and built a cross-border e-commerce platform for one year with relevant policy support. In 2017, the OWTOT online trading platform was formally put into operation, targeting five Central Asian countries and Russia, and providing thousands of commodities in 17 industries, such as garments, shoes, glass, ceramic products, etc.

In the corridor of the Silutong Information Company, the wall, more than 20 meters long, records the team's journey of "building a dream" over the years. In 2018, the company established a branch in Kyrgyzstan, and started marketing operations in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. In 2019, the company set up overseas warehouses and overseas sample display rooms in Bishkek of Kyrgyzstan, Almaty of Kazakhstan, and Kazan of Russia, respectively. And in 2020, the Xinjiang Yilutong Information Technology Co., Ltd. was officially established, focusing on import business and settlement and other businesses.

This year, Xinjiang Silutong Information Technology Co., Ltd. has achieved new breakthroughs. In May 2023, it set up a subsidiary, Zhejiang Jiangda Information Technology Co., Ltd., in Yiwu, and at the same time, "Yilutong Small Commodities Digital Museum" was opened for operation. After that, the company also signed a purchase agreement for 20 containers of solar panels with a solar power plant in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and an export agreement for 100 new energy vehicles with a vehicle purchaser in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

"We have completed the construction of overseas warehouses, transit warehouses, and back-end warehouses in three years, and the platform now has more than 400 merchants stationed, and the volume of transactions, transportation, and warehousing is increasing." Meng Xiuli said that, in the process of creating a full industrial chain of cross-border e-commerce, back-end warehouses are established in Guangzhou and Yiwu to collect and distribute goods; transit warehouses are set up in Xinjiang for logistics transit; and front-end warehouses such as overseas subsidiaries, overseas warehouses, and sample rooms are used to distribute goods.

As the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is full of opportunities, from the business environment to the transportation of goods. Meng Xiuli's ambition is to take advantage of the Belt and Road Initiative to sell more products that are "Manufactured in China" to Central Asia and Europe through Xinjiang, and to contribute to the development of Xinjiang.

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