Chongqing- The China (Chongqing) Cross-border E-commerce Forum, one of the major events of the Fourth Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade (WCIFIT), was held at the Chongqing International Expo Center on July 22. 140 participants joined the forum, including representatives from different departments, business associations, institutional industry associations, industry experts, and key enterprises in this market. This forum provided new energy to this industry under the updated economic norms.   

China's cross-border e-commerce reached 1.92 trillion yuan in 2021

In 2021, the scale of cross-border e-commerce in China reached 1.92 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.6%.

Qu Weixi, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, indicated cross-border e-commerce transactions in China have continued to grow. Additionally, it had transitioned from rapid growth to mature development.  

Yang Changyong, director of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research's Foreign Economic Research Institute, said cross-border e-commerce had become a new trade format and model that will lead to the development of international trade. In China's cross-border e-commerce development, remarkable results have been achieved, with the potential for further high-quality growth.  

The largest cross-border e-commerce consumer market in the west

According to the forum, cross-border e-commerce in Chongqing has a positive development momentum, and its total import and export volume ranked among the highest in the western region. 

Chongqing has the largest cross-border e-commerce consumer market in the west, according to Qu Weixi, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.  

Since Chongqing was approved as a National Cross-Border E-commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone in 2016, it has made significant advances in institutional, management, and service innovation, with the import and export scale increasing by 39 times in seven years. The city's cross-border e-commerce transaction volume reached 32.21 billion yuan in 2021, up 63.3% from the previous year. The figure reached 19.79 billion yuan from January to May, an increase of 88.9% yearly, continuing the rapid growth trend.  

Chongqing has built a cross-border e-commerce industry development system, which includes more than 200 leading Chinese companies within the industry, such as Tmall International, JD.com, VIPShop, etc., with businesses in neighboring provinces and cities. As a local import cross-border e-commerce market leader, Yuou Cross-border has successfully evolved from a regional platform to one national in scope.  

How to further develop cross-border e-commerce in Chongqing?

Three aspects can be used to promote the further development of cross-border e-commerce in Chongqing, according to Qu Weixi. To begin with, Chongqing can cultivate diversified platforms and improve its comprehensive service capabilities. The second step involves promoting the business-to-business model and supporting the creation of relative brands in the field. Lastly, Chongqing's industry can participate in developing international economic and trade rules by experimenting with pilots. 

Chongqing can cultivate competitive and comprehensive service enterprises by supporting cross-border e-commerce platforms. By integrating water, land, and air transportation into the western region's supply chain system, Chongqing can provide more efficient services for the development of the industry. To drive marketing promotion, product development, and user life cycle management through user data, Chongqing should encourage enterprises to develop a comprehensive consumer portrait. Therefore, Chongqing can improve its user experience and repurchase rate. By implementing business-to-business and second-hand car export pilot projects, the city can integrate local competitive industries such as robots, motorcycles, and automobiles with cross-border e-commerce. As a result, the industry can be optimized based on international logistics channels, such as the China-Europe Railway Express, the International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, etc., supporting overseas business-to-business exports.  

In cross-border e-commerce, Zheng Songqi, general manager of Jumia African E-commerce Platform in China, said opening up the entire supply chain is crucial. It would be more beneficial for Chongqing to establish more relevant platforms, such as relative industrial parks, which would bring together media, service providers, logistics, and related sellers. Consequently, it is more conducive to developing clusters within the industry.  

Also, Zheng Songqi said that many sellers might not understand the platform's rules and regulations. In contrast, if they are located in the same park, they can get professional services to help them, which makes it easier for sellers to grow. Furthermore, it facilitates a better division of labor and more cooperation between upstream and downstream.