An employee works at a cross-border e-commerce company in Chongqing Fuling Comprehensive Bonded Zone, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Dec. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao)
BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) --Artificial intelligence (AI) technology and new business formats in cross-border e-commerce sector are reshaping the way of foreign trade in China, reported Xinhua Finance.
Nowadays, the cross-border e-commerce has become an important channel for many foreign trade enterprises to secure orders. With the assistance of AI technology, cross-border e-commerce is poised to have a greater impact on traditional foreign trade practices.
Industry insiders note that cross-border e-commerce will significantly influence Chinese manufacturing enterprises' brand establishment and channel construction.
--AI technology empowers cross-border e-commerce
"Cross-border e-commerce is our top priority. Cross-border live streaming allows overseas buyers to see real-time video shops, factories and products. Each of our salespersons must be capable of conducting live streaming," said Xu Jingqian, general manager of APCOM Compressor Machine Co., Ltd.
"Cross-border e-commerce", "live streaming" and "AI" have become high-frequency terms commonly mentioned by many foreign trade enterprises in China.
The statistics from the General Administration of Customs showed that the import and export volume of China's cross-border e-commerce reached 2.38 trillion yuan in 2023, marking a 15.6 percent year-on-year increase.
Huang Kai, general manager of Foshan Shunde Jiening Furniture Co., Limited, said that leveraging AI products has allowed the company to release 100 products in just two hours, resulting in substantial efficiency improvements. "Our team is constantly researching how to train AI assistants to enhance their understanding of the team's needs."
The president of Alibaba.com, Zhang Kuo, stated, " 2023 is a year of market changes and technological innovations for foreign trade professionals. In the future, intelligent and video-related developments will change the next generation's foreign trade experience."
"New technologies such as AI are blessing digital foreign trade with better development opportunities. As we look ahead, AI technology will deeply integrate with foreign trade and profoundly change traditional foreign trade methods," said Li Jun, director of the Institute of International Trade in Service under the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Commerce.
--Cross-border e-commerce platforms enhance global influence
According to industry experts, Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms like AliExpress, SHEIN, and TEMU continuously enhance their global influence which are transitioning towards a new stage of high-quality development. In the future, cross-border e-commerce will play an important role in serving the globalization efforts of Chinese manufacturing brands, as well as facilitating their channel construction.
The person in charge of CARE, a Chinese automobile & motorcycle parts brand, said that the enthusiasm of overseas buyers for participating in the "Double 11" shopping festival is increasing. "During the 2023 'Double 11' shopping festival, our fully managed store on a cross-border e-commerce platform sold more than 30,000 items, nearly five to eight times the usual amount." "Double 11" stands for the on-line shopping festival usually held on November 11 of every year.
"Against the backdrop of the ongoing growth in the global influence of Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms, the shopping habits of overseas consumers are gradually being influenced by China's consumer market." "In the past, primarily Chinese consumers participated in overseas traditional shopping seasons like Black Friday, but now, overseas consumers are also starting to participate in China's 'Double 11' shopping festival." Many foreign trade enterprises expressed such observations and sentiments during interviews with the reporter.
Chen Gang, president of the cross-border e-commerce branch of China Association for Small & Medium Commercial Enterprises and executive vice president of Newegg China, highlighted the increasing focus of more Chinese enterprises on expanding their reach in overseas markets, which is especially true for the manufacturing companies with innovative iterative capabilities.
Chen emphasized that enterprises create new sales channels and establish brands by leveraging cross-border e-commerce platforms to sell their products globally, which not only leads to increased profits and business opportunities for enterprises but also provides more choices for overseas consumers.
"Cross-border e-commerce is an important trend in shaping the future transformation and development of international trade. It will play a pivotal role in supporting the globalization efforts of Chinese manufacturing brands and facilitating their channel construction," said Li Mingtao, chief expert of the China International Electronic Commerce Center.
-Weak links necessary to be improved urgently
Industry insiders also noted that there are still weak links in the cross-border e-commerce industry.
Chen Gang pointed out that despite the rapid growth, the industry faces many challenges that require sober assessment.
To shore up the weak links in the cross-border e-commerce development, Zhu Keli, a standing director of the China Information Industry Association and founding director of the China Institute of New Economy, said that to tackle the insufficient infrastructure, it is necessary to ramp up investment in infrastructure construction, improve customs clearance efficiency, optimize logistics and information flow channels, and reduce operating costs for enterprises, thereby offering robust backing for the development of cross-border e-commerce.
Secondly, to improve the functions and service levels of overseas warehouses, it is necessary to strengthen the informatization application and compliance management, establish a sound service framework for overseas warehouses, and drive the optimization and growth of the entire supply chain, he added.
Furthermore, to address the talent shortage issue, it is necessary to reinforce school-enterprise cooperation, establish a sound training system for talents in cross-border e-commerce sector to meet the industry's development needs, and attract and retain high-quality professionals.
Last but not least, to address the imperative for a standardized legal environment, it is necessary to establish and improve a comprehensive legal framework for cross-border e-commerce, as well as formulate policies and regulations that align with the industry's growth requirements, thus promoting the sector's healthy development, said Zhu.
(Contributed by Gao Jingyan with Xinhua Silk Road, gaojingyan@xinhua.org, Ding Yawen, and Xu tan)
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