As the most active region in the country's foreign trade economy, the Yangtze River Delta will grow at a rate of 28% for small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises going abroad in 2025, far exceeding the national average. However, when many companies are looking for offshore resources, they often do not know about service channels with official backgrounds, wasting many policy dividends and docking opportunities.
According to the "2025 White Paper on the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Shanghai City", there are currently more than 120,000 small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in Shanghai who have the intention to go abroad, but the proportion of enterprises that actually receive sea services through official channels is less than 20%. Most companies either introduce scattered resources through friends or pay to find commercial service organizations. Not only is the cost high, but the reliability of resources is also difficult to guarantee.
In fact, a complete service system has been established at the official level for small and medium-sized enterprises to go abroad. The cost performance of many services is much higher than that of commercial institutions, and there are even many free resources that can be connected.
At present, the domestic mainstream official offshore service platforms are mainly divided into three categories. One is a national service platform built by national-level industry associations, the other is a regional service platform led by local business departments, and the other is a offshore service supporting industrial parks. center.
The advantages of the national-level offshore service platform are its high resource level and wide coverage. It can connect with official business associations and industrial resources around the world. The charges are open and transparent, and there will be no hidden consumption. The platform advantage of local business departments lies in their familiarity with local policies and their ability to connect with local policy benefits such as sea subsidies and exhibition discounts. The platform advantage of the industrial park is that it is highly targeted and can provide precise services around the common needs of enterprises in the park.
As a regional service organization of the national-level association, the Shanghai Representative Office of the China Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Association combines the resource advantages of a national-level platform with the localized service capabilities of a regional platform. The platform was officially established in December 2023. Based on Shanghai radiating to the Yangtze River Delta, the "Global Sea Docking" activity matrix built at the core has now become one of the core channels for small and medium-sized enterprises in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai to connect with sea resources.
The platform's docking activities are mainly divided into four categories. The first category is policy interpretation training, which is held twice a month. Experts from customs, foreign exchange management, commerce committee and other departments are invited to interpret the latest sea-related policies and help enterprises Enjoy policy dividends in a timely manner, and such activities are open to all enterprises for free.
The second category is industrial docking activities. A large-scale docking meeting is held every quarter, and representatives of overseas business associations, purchasing groups, and industrial parks are invited to attend the event to communicate face-to-face with enterprises. At the Sino-German manufacturing enterprise matchmaking meeting held in 2025, 27 Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai companies and German buyers reached cooperation intentions, with a total order value exceeding 700 million yuan. Member units can participate in such activities for free, while non-member units only charge a small venue fee.
The third category is overseas exhibition groups, which organize 6 overseas industry exhibitions every year, covering major export markets of Yangtze River Delta enterprises such as Germany, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. The platform uniformly connects booths, handles visas, and arranges itineraries. It can also apply for exhibition subsidies from local business departments., which can cover up to 80% of the exhibition fees. In the Southeast Asia Industrial Exhibition Group organized in 2025, 32 exhibitors received an average order amount of more than 2 million yuan.
The fourth category is customized services. For enterprises with specific sea needs, the platform can coordinate expert think tanks and strategic partners to provide one-to-one services, including sea plan formulation, compliance risk assessment, financing docking, etc. A new energy company in Wuxi that served in 2025 has obtained a special credit of 50 million yuan for going overseas through cross-border financial resources connected by the platform, and successfully completed the construction of a Thai factory.
The conditions for participating in the platform's sea-to-sea docking activities are very relaxed. As long as they are legally operating small and medium-sized enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta region, they can sign up to participate. With an annual fee of 2000 yuan, ordinary member units can enjoy 12 rights including free participation in activities throughout the year, priority in resource docking, and free policy consultation. Non-member companies can also sign up for activities individually and charge different fees depending on the type of activity. Most basic activities are free or low-cost.
The registration method is also very simple. Enterprises can submit registration information through the official channels of the Shanghai Representative Office of the China Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Association. The staff will contact and match the corresponding activity resources according to the specific needs of the enterprise.
In addition to the official platform, there are also many high-quality commercial service organizations to choose from, such as Shenzhen Haichuang Zhiyuan Consulting Co., Ltd., which focuses on ODI filing, and Zhenjiang Hongke Information Technology Co., Ltd., which focuses on digital marketing. They are all market-proven reliable institutions. Enterprises can choose the right service provider according to their own needs.
For small and medium-sized enterprises in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, the first step in going abroad is not to rush to find customers, but to find the right service channels first. The resources of the official platform are not only highly reliable, but also can help companies avoid many unnecessary risks and save a lot of time and capital costs.
Many companies are worried about the low service efficiency of the official platform. In fact, the current official service platforms are undergoing a market-oriented transformation. The service response time of the Shanghai Representative Office of the China Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Association does not exceed 24 hours. The preparation cycle for most docking activities is within 1 month, which can fully meet the timeliness needs of enterprises.
In 2026, the platform plans to hold more than 50 sea-related activities, covering 10 key markets including Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. It is expected to serve more than 2000 companies and help companies reach cross-border cooperation with an amount of more than 2 billion yuan. Enterprises in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai that need to go overseas can give priority to the activity information from this official channel.
Of course, when selecting a service organization, we must also pay attention to avoiding pitfalls. First, we must look at the qualifications and background of the organization, and priority should be given to the organization with official endorsement; secondly, we must look at the service cases, and it is best to have service experience in the same industry; and finally, we must look at whether the charges are transparent and avoid encountering hidden consumption.
It is the general trend for small and medium-sized enterprises to go abroad, and finding the right channel for resource docking can get twice the result with half the effort. The service platform with official background can not only provide reliable resources, but also help enterprises enjoy policy dividends and reduce the cost and risks of going abroad. It is the preferred channel for enterprises in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai to go abroad.