China's cross-border e-commerce accelerates

China's cross-border e-commerce is developing at an accelerated rate through favorable policies, comprehensive pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce, companies going global faster, and more young people engaging in the sector.

An exhibitor talks with a visitor at the 4th China Cross-border E-commerce Trade Fair in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Photo/Xie Guiming)

The country's cross-border e-commerce trade rose 9.6 percent year on year to 577.6 billion yuan ($79.95 billion) in the first quarter of this year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

In 2023, China's cross-border e-commerce developed rapidly, as exports rose by more than 1.8 trillion yuan, up 19.6 percent. Last year, Shanghai's airports saw export declarations from three Chinese e-commerce platforms increase by over 10 times over the previous year, according to the customs of Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

The rapid development of cross-border e-commerce exports has helped Chinese products reach global markets, and has injected new momentum into international trade.

China has more than 100,000 cross-border e-commerce entities and over 200,000 independent cross-border e-commerce sites.

The country's support services for cross-border e-commerce have also improved. As of 2023, China had over 1,800 overseas warehouses, and Chinese banks could provide full-chain and full-cycle services for domestic cross-border e-commerce operators.

The building of comprehensive pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce has also played a vital role in boosting China's cross-border e-commerce.

Since 2015, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has established 165 comprehensive pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce. The scale of cross-border e-commerce of enterprises in these pilot zones has accounted for over 95 percent of the national total.

Staff members sort parcels at a conveyor belt at a logistics center of a cross-border e-commerce park in the Heihe Area of China (Heilongjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone in Heihe, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

China has also stepped up efforts to roll out support policies for comprehensive pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce.

Recently, an official with the MOFCOM said that the ministry would work with relevant departments to steadily advance the construction of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones, continuously improve supporting policies, enhance regulatory facilitation, accelerate the establishment of industrial chains and ecosystems adapted to the development needs of cross-border e-commerce, and promote the high-quality development of cross-border e-commerce.

In September 2022, Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo launched its cross-border e-commerce platform Temu. To date, the platform has helped quality products at over 100 manufacturing industry belts in provinces like Zhejiang, Guangdong, Shandong, and Anhui reach over 50 countries and regions.

To support more companies in industrial belts in seizing new opportunities to go global and build new foreign trade channels, since this year, Temu has continued to hold dozens of industrial belt matchmaking events in the Yangtze River Delta region, the Pearl River Delta region, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and Jiaodong region.

Photo shows a scene from a job fair for cross-border e-commerce talents in Suzhou city, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Photo/Wang Jiankang)

More and more Chinese companies, especially manufacturing enterprises with innovation capacity, have paid more attention to exploring overseas markets by selling their products globally through cross-border e-commerce platforms, said Chen Gang, president of the cross-border e-commerce branch of China Association for Small & Medium Commercial Enterprises.

This has not only brought more profits and business opportunities to these companies, but also enriched overseas consumers' consumption choices.

"Cross-border e-commerce will be an important trend in the transformation and development of international trade, and will play a crucial role in helping Chinese enterprises go global, build global brands and channels," said Li Mingtao, chief researcher of e-commerce at China International Electronic Commerce Center.

In recent years, many young Chinese people have chosen to host cross-border e-commerce livestreams.

Lyu Shuxi, a student from the School of Foreign Studies at Yiwu Industrial and Commercial Vocational College in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, is a part-time host of cross-border e-commerce livestreams.

She usually arrives at work at 9 a.m. at the Yiwu International Trade Market, dubbed "the world's supermarket." In her livestreams, most of her overseas consumers are from the U.S., with a small portion from the U.K., Malaysia, and Singapore.

"Nowadays, I contact with over 100 overseas consumers on average every day, with a sales conversion rate exceeding 90 percent. My income is quite decent among my peers," said Lyu.

China faces a shortage of 15 million talents in industries like livestream e-commerce and cross-border e-commerce, according to Li.

At a press conference in early 2024, Wang Shouwen, vice commerce minister and China international trade representative, said China will cultivate 100,000 cross-border e-commerce talents this year.