DHgate's new unit to tap social commerce

Meria is just one of the newbies who aspire to tap into the cross-border e-commerce sector.

China's foreign trade sector has delivered better-than-expected performance so far this year, boosted by a boom in cross-border e-commerce amid the global economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

In the first half of the year, China's trade volume via cross-border e-commerce platforms overseen by Customs authorities increased 26 percent year-on-year, with exports up by nearly 29 percent, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

"The overseas B2B e-commerce industry is still a blue ocean market with a huge growth potential," said Quan Changlian, deputy editor-in-chief of industry analysis website 36Kr.

MyyShop can tap into this fast-growing market given DHgate's 16-year experience in supply chains, fulfillment services and customer acquisition, Quan said.

China has rolled out favorable policies to promote cross-border e-commerce at the national level. GAC said that starting from Sept 1,12 Customs districts, including Shanghai, Fuzhou, Qingdao, Jinan, Wuhan, Changsha, and Gongbei, have been identified as the supervision pilots for B2B e-commerce exports.

B2B exporters can enjoy simplified export declarations and paperless Customs clearance, including one-off registrations, streamlined declarations and expedited clearance at lower costs.

Zhang Li, director of the e-commerce research institute affiliated to the Ministry of Commerce, said cross-border e-commerce has become an important channel for China's foreign trade during the pandemic period, and played a vital role in stabilizing and accelerating the innovative development of foreign trade.

"The outbreak has posed a challenge to logistics and distribution. China's cross-border e-commerce logistics companies ensured the timely delivery of commodities through charter flights and overseas warehouses," Zhang said.

In April, the State Council, China's Cabinet, decided at an executive meeting to set up 46 new comprehensive cross-border e-commerce pilot zones, bringing their total to 105.

Wei Hao, a professor from the business school of Beijing Normal University, said the expansion of cross-border e-commerce pilot zones has made up for the adverse impact that was caused by the pandemic on the traditional trade model. Cross-border e-commerce has become a new driving force that is fostering the development of China's foreign trade.