Amazon to provide Korean products in China

Amazon.com Inc's Chinese branch, Z.cn, will provide products imported from Korea starting from November after it teamed up with a Korean trade organization to cash in on Chinese consumers' demand for quality imported goods.

The company entered into a deal with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency on Aug 24 to provide Korea-made goods, including household, health care, and baby care products.

The company said it will make the prices in the Chinese market the same as in Korea to attract customers.

The move comes after a high-profile price war among major Chinese e-commerce players that started early this month. Some consumers complained that the price war is just a marketing gimmick rather than heavy price cuts as the e-commerce websites claimed.

About 18 million Chinese online shoppers, 11 percent of those who shop online, bought goods from overseas companies in 2011, according to domestic research company iResearch. Online websites, including Taobao.com and 360buy.com, have provided goods supplied directly by foreign manufacturers to meet market demand.

In 2011, the total trade volume between China and Korea was $220.63 billion, up 17.1 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.