Steven Wang: Over the past decade, the cross-border e-commerce industry in China has grown rapidly, becoming a significant force in the new foreign trade business model. Take Shenzhen, the most developed city for cross-border e-commerce, as an example. According to incomplete statistics, Shenzhen currently has more than 100,000 cross-border e-commerce sellers in company form, and the number of people employed across the entire industry chain is conservatively estimated at around 2 million—approximately 1/10th of the city’s population.

With so many people engaged in cross-border e-commerce, what exactly are they earning from? Some say it's due to the information gap or platform bonuses, and this statement holds true as well. For a long time, cross-border e-commerce has been addressing the issue of product diversity in overseas markets. Leveraging China’s complete supply chain and strong manufacturing capacity, combined with its vast market of 1.4 billion people, we have established a robust product supply capability with an incredibly rich product range.

Out of nearly 200 countries in the world, only 16 have populations exceeding 100 million. For instance, many European countries have populations equivalent to those of a provincial capital in China. This means that these countries lack the complete industrial and manufacturing chains in various sectors, relying heavily on imported goods to meet the daily needs of their citizens.

Daily necessities, due to their high consumption and demand, can be imported through traditional trade methods. However, for niche products, long-tail demand items, low-repurchase-frequency categories, or highly seasonal goods, the traditional trade model combined with offline retail is clearly not the best option. The cross-border e-commerce model, with its small-batch, high-frequency, and flexible supply chain, offers a significant advantage. For example, in China, we used to refer to Taobao as the “all-powerful Taobao,” because it could meet all kinds of consumer needs due to its vast product variety.

In the short term, cross-border e-commerce profits come from platform bonuses, traffic dividends, and time-gap opportunities as the industry develops unevenly across different countries. It also benefits from China’s leading e-commerce model and supporting services globally. In the long run, it is primarily driven by the large market size created by China’s 1.4 billion population and the complete, diversified supply chain system it has fostered. Furthermore, China’s vast pool of university-educated talent also brings more opportunities and benefits to the industry.

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Public Account: Cross-border E-commerce Logistics Baixiaosheng