A launch ceremony for a Shanghai e-commerce platform, which supports export-oriented commodities sold at home, was held April 28.

The local government is connecting over 1,000 foreign trade enterprises with leading e-commerce platforms where they promote roughly 100 million items at minimal cost to the domestic audience, according to Hua Yuan, director of the Shanghai Commission of Commerce.

Of equal importance to other industries is instilling confidence in export-driven companies, whose businesses have been affected by shrinking overseas demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Discounts are also steep. For instance, a 50.8-centimeter suitcase made of recyclable material, which was priced at 1,580 yuan ($223), is being offered for just 299 yuan online, bringing benefits to customers and valuable cash flow to enterprises, said Yang Yanfeng, a partner at Shanghai Haichen International Trade Co Ltd.

From April 28 to the end of June, the first batch of hundreds of foreign trade enterprises will land on Pinduoduo, Bailian and other e-commerce platforms.

Bailian's digital shop has set up a dedicated online channel to display and sell the merchandise, and will host a week-long sales event at its four physical outlets during the 55 Shopping Festival next month, a major thrust by the government to stimulate spending citywide.

During the upcoming campaign, e-commerce platforms and brick-and-mortar stores are scheduled to hand out vouchers worth billions of yuan to encourage spending online and offline.