A head of the Lanzhou city's commerce bureau, Gansu province says they want to cooperate with cities along China's Belt and Road project in cross-border e-commerce logistics, with different enterprises and organizations in an alliance.

The alliance will increase exchanges with countries involved in the project and make better use of railway freight trains between their cities, said Liu Zhiqiang, a vice-director of the bureau

Liu made the remark at a press conference on Sept 1, where he said the alliance will be announced at the 2015 Lanzhou International Cross-Border E-Commerce Logistics Convention, Sept 7-10, in Lanzhou, which will also have forums, exhibitions, and training on cross-border e-commerce logistics.

Liu went on to say that the bureau will also introduce China's first "Lanzhou trade logistics index" to truly reflect the city’s trade, with the help of big data, and that it is expected to help develop e-commerce logistics in Gansu, and even Northwest China.

The China Communication and Transportation Association, one of the organizers, said their goal at the convention is to develop e-commerce and make the best use of each other's resources, and there will be discussions on e-commerce enterprises, logistics enterprises and freight transport.

The convention is also attracting other cities such as Tianjin and Chengdu, and Chinese e-commerce enterprises such as Alibaba and Jingdong and international organizations.

Edited by Roger Bradshaw