Since 2020, China's foreign trade imports and exports have continued to improve. According to customs statistics, in 2020, China's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached 1.69 trillion yuan, an increase of 31.1%. Cross border e-commerce is becoming an important force in stabilizing foreign trade, with over ten thousand traditional foreign trade enterprises online, improving quality and efficiency. Cross border e-commerce has become the first choice for enterprises to carry out international trade and the vanguard of foreign trade innovation and development.
Rising demand for 'Made in China'
In 2020, our cross-border e-commerce exports reached 1.3 billion yuan, and it is expected to reach 1.6 billion yuan by 2021. "The head of an international trade company in Zhejiang stated that the company has entered the cross-border e-commerce field since 2014 and started exporting cross-border e-commerce in 2018, maintaining a rapid growth rate of over 50% in recent years.
This is just an example of the development of cross-border e-commerce enterprises in China. According to Li Kuiwen, spokesperson for the General Administration of Customs and Director of the Statistics and Analysis Department, as an emerging trade format, cross-border e-commerce has shown signs of increasing import and export trade volume during the epidemic prevention period. In 2020, the import and export scale of China's cross-border e-commerce reached 1.69 trillion yuan, a strong growth of 31.1%, with exports reaching 1.12 trillion yuan, an increase of 40.1%, and all indicators reaching new highs.
Currently, global consumers are actively or passively shifting their consumption behavior online, and cross-border e-commerce platforms have become important channels for consumer procurement. Due to the impact of the epidemic, many overseas factories are in a semi shutdown state, and the demand for "Made in China" by overseas consumers is increasing. Electronic products, daily necessities, and other products are favored by overseas consumers. According to customs data, in 2020, China exported 2.51 trillion yuan of "residential economy" products such as laptops, an increase of 8.5%.
Chinese sellers have responded quickly to changes in overseas consumer demand, utilizing the maturity and completeness advantages of the domestic manufacturing supply chain to flexibly adjust their products and achieve growth against the trend. We have a factory next door that used to produce household lighting fixtures. During the epidemic prevention period, they started producing ultraviolet disinfection lamps, which are selling very well overseas, "said an LED manufacturer in Zhongshan City.
Yang Jun, the head of Asia Pacific seller expansion for Amazon's global store opening company, has a deep understanding of this: "During the epidemic prevention period, many sellers have opened up many new business opportunities." She pointed out that the epidemic has caused new demand for home quarantine, and in addition to medical supplies, remote office categories such as Bluetooth headphones, network cameras, lifting tables, and office chairs have significantly increased.
Overseas warehouses greatly save costs
The epidemic has brought us great challenges, "said a person in charge of a cross-border e-commerce company. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the number of international airlines has sharply decreased, and cross-border e-commerce has encountered problems such as slow logistics delivery, rising costs, difficult returns and exchanges, and customs clearance.
In this situation, the country has introduced a series of favorable policies, injecting a "strong needle" into cross-border e-commerce platforms and merchants. In 2020, China's "Silk Road E-commerce" cooperation with 22 countries continued to deepen, and the achievements of bilateral cooperation accelerated their implementation; The State Council has newly approved the establishment of 46 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones, and the number of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones has been expanded to 105; The General Administration of Customs has added "9710" and "9810" cross-border e-commerce B2B export trade methods to promote customs clearance facilitation. At present, cross-border e-commerce pilot zones in multiple regions are continuing to promote policy positive measures for multiple industrial chains such as cross-border payments, e-commerce platforms, and logistics companies.
The overseas warehouse model has become a new choice for many cross-border enterprises. The logistics efficiency has increased from 25 to 30 working days or even one and a half months, with a leap from seven day delivery, three day delivery, and one day delivery. Unlike other logistics channels, overseas warehouses have helped us save 20% of logistics costs. While product damage rates have decreased, the buyer service experience and store positive reviews have skyrocketed. "According to Roy, a seller of outdoor cycling products on Dunhuang. com, as of 2020, overseas warehouses accounted for 80% of the company's total, The sales performance of products with overseas warehouses has increased by more than three times.
The epidemic has accelerated the trend of digital new foreign trade, and technological innovation has empowered exports. For example, Alibaba International Station brings buyers and sellers closer to each other through online exhibitions, audio and video negotiations, as well as intelligent translation, customs clearance, logistics, tax refunds and other services. We not only need to solve the problem of merchants accurately obtaining orders, but also ensure the smooth flow of international transportation, cross-border payments and other links, "said Zhang Kuao, General Manager of Alibaba International Station.
Entering the stage of "intensive cultivation and meticulous cultivation"
Chinese products are not only high-quality and affordable, but also have excellent product design. Many technological products are easy to use, "exclaimed an overseas consumer who often buys Chinese products.
With the continuous development of cross-border e-commerce for exports, more and more Chinese goods are going overseas, and the demand of global consumers is also constantly upgrading. After experiencing rapid growth, savage growth, and capacity adjustment, China's export cross-border e-commerce industry has entered a new stage of development with improved inventory and stable operations.
Amazon recently released the "From New Business Forms to New Normals -2020 China Export Cross border E-commerce Trends Report", summarizing five major trends in the development of China's export cross-border e-commerce: more diversified seller regions and types, accelerated global layout, enhanced brand awareness, accelerated product innovation, and improved responsiveness.
The Chinese export cross-border e-commerce industry and sellers have undergone an evolution from 'barbaric growth' to 'intensive cultivation'. Export cross-border e-commerce has become an important support force for China's foreign trade, and is transitioning from a 'new business format' to a 'new normal' for foreign trade. "Dai Jianfei, Global Vice President and Asia Pacific Regional Manager of Amazon, said that Chinese sellers need to have a global perspective and localized thinking when doing global business.
Dai Jianfei believes that on the one hand, diversified development can create a better foundation for future development. Chinese sellers can not only develop mature markets such as the United States, Europe, and Japan, but also further enter many emerging markets, such as Australia and Singapore; On the other hand, Chinese sellers need to understand the needs of local consumers, take consumers as the starting point, do a good job in product differentiation design, and better serve the purchasing needs of local consumers. At the same time, they also need to understand the different trade and product regulations of different countries, and obtain healthier and more sustainable operations on the basis of compliance.
