Foreign Brands Rush to Join Chinese Platforms1外國品牌爭相入駐中國電商平臺

沈維多 譯/唐毅

As the ongoing pandemic has dampened many Chinese consumers’ habit of “buying abroad” over the past year， the cross-border e-commerce platforms， which now have become the only channel for many domestic consumers who seek for overseas products， have become a highland for foreign brands who want to keep consumers in the world’s second-largest economy.

The booming cross border e-commerce trade between China and other countries， has not only turned out to be a key factor in the recovery of foreign firms who are still struggling in pandemic woes， but is also a silver lining for global trade under the shadow of the pandemic.

According to data provided by Tmall Global， the cross-border business-to-consumer marketplace under Alibaba Group， also one of the most popular platforms in China， more than 29，000 brands across 5，800 categories had come onto the platform at the end of December 2020， and over 80 percent of them are entering China for the first time.

Brands， particularly small- and medium-sized players that have been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic， are trying their best to enter new markets and find fresh channels for growth， according to the platform.

Apart from Tmall， another leading platform JD Worldwide， JD.com’s cross-border e-commerce platform， also previously said it has helped 270 new foreign brands to further expand sales channel in China via its platform in the first half of 2020 to meet the increasing consumption demand in the world’s second-largest economy， according to previous media reports.

The “foreign brands festival” has attracted an increasing number of Chinese consumers to purchase online. Over the past year， China’s cross-border e-commerce imports and exports increased by 31.1 percent year-on-year， according to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs on January 14.

Figures have further improved from the first half of 2020， when trade volumes via cross-border e-commerce platforms， under the oversight of customs authorities， increased by 26.2 percent year-on-year， with exports and imports up by 28.7 percent and 24.4 percent， respectively.

“Under the weight of the pandemic， cross-border e-commerce， as a new business format， has gone from strength to strength，” Li Kuiwen， a customs spokesperson said， noting that cross-border e-commerce has now become an important force in stabilizing foreign trade.

Chinese e-commerce platforms have also been investing heavily to advance this trend， providing convenience and shortening procedures for brands who want to capture a slice of pie in the booming market.

For instance， Tmall Global announced a new suite of solutions at the 2021 Tmall Global New Seller Virtual Summit， to help global brands capture growing consumption opportunities in China.

As the first-ever virtual summit hosted by the platform with regional and category-specific content sessions spanning seven time zones from Tuesday until Thursday， it covers China’s cross-border e-commerce landscape and market insights， as well as case studies from different regions and industries， according to Tmall Global.

“We hope to provide foreign merchants with more confidence through this virtual summit， and provide solutions for those who cannot ‘go out’ due to the pandemic，” Maggie Liu， General Manager of Tmall Global， told the Global Times in an interview.

“We’ve entered a new phase， and it’s not just an opportunity for Tmall Global but the cross-border e-commerce industry as a whole. The reason is that Chinese consumers can’t travel abroad right now， but the demand is still there，” Liu said， adding that the most popular categories on its platforms are health products， beauty instruments and home appliances.

In addition to a streamlined on-boarding process， overseas brands and retailers will receive tailored consultation， operations and content support as well as other value-added services through Tmall Global and its partner network worldwide. Tmall Global will also roll out region-specific programs to further support merchants who plan to join the platform.

Liu said how to attract the local brands which are well-known in other countries but with less global awareness will be another key part， including some brands created by KOL， and some products with best quality in the world.

JD.com confirmed in August 2020 that it has held online investment promotion conferences in South Korea and Singapore to reach local brand merchants and help them seek the China market， said media reports.

Analysts said the increasing trend of cross-border e-commerce is also set to continue on the back of China’s consumption boom， highly developed logistics support chains， and favorable government policy.

Customs will continue to focus on the development of new business formats and corporate concerns， strengthen supervision， optimize services， further improve supervision and data integrity systems， promoting high-quality development of new cross-border e-commerce business formats， Li Kuiwen， the customs spokesperson said.

Logistics will also be ensured， Liu said， noting that Tmall Global has various freight logistics channels from bonded warehouses to chartered flights and it will also have random checks on the goods. So far， there has no any positive COVID-19 cases reported yet.

過去一年，疫情肆虐，抑制了許多中國消費者“國外購物”的習慣，跨境電商平臺現已成為眾多尋找海外產品的國內消費者唯一的購物渠道，也成為想要留住世界第二大經濟體消費者的外國品牌的競爭高地。

中國和其他國家之間蓬勃發展的跨境電子貿易，不僅是依然在疫情中掙扎的外國公司復蘇的關鍵因素，也是疫情陰霾下全球貿易的一線光明。

天貓國際是阿里巴巴集團旗下的跨境B2C市場，也是中國最受歡迎的電商平臺之一。根據天貓國際提供的數據，截至2020年12月底，有5800個品類超過2.9萬個品牌入駐，其中80%以上是首次進入中國市場。

根據該平臺的說法，各個品牌，尤其是受到新冠疫情沉重打擊的中小品牌，正竭力進入新市場，力爭找到增長的新渠道。

依據媒體以前的報道，除了天貓，另一主要平臺京東國際——京東集團的跨境電商平臺——之前也曾宣布，2020年上半年，平臺已經幫助270個新的外國品牌進一步拓展在中國的銷售渠道，以滿足世界第二大經濟體不斷增長的消費需求。

“海外品牌節”已經吸引了越來越多的中國消費者在線購買商品。根據1月14日海關總署發布的最新數據，過去一年，中國的跨境電商進出口同比增長了31.1%。

2020年上半年以來，數字還在進一步增長——在海關的監督下，跨境電商平臺的貿易額同比增長了26.2%，出口和進口分別增長了28.7%和24.4%。

海關總署新聞發言人李魁文說：“在疫情的影響下，跨境電商作為新業態已經不斷壯大。”他提到，跨境電商現已成為穩定對外貿易的一支重要力量。

為促進這一趨勢，中國電商平臺也大力投入，為那些想從這個繁榮市場分得一杯羹的外國品牌提供便利，縮短流程。

比如，在2021天貓國際全球云上招商峰會上，天貓國際宣布了一系列新舉措，以幫助全球品牌抓住中國不斷增長的消費機會。

天貓國際稱，這是其平臺主辦的第一個線上峰會，從周二持續到周四，跨越7個時區，包含地區和品類的小組討論，議題覆蓋中國跨境電商的格局以及市場觀察，也有從不同地區和產業選取的案例研究。

天貓國際總經理劉一曼在一次采訪中告訴《環球時報》：“我們希望通過這次線上峰會給予外商更多信心，為那些因疫情不能‘走出去’的商家提供解決方案。”

“我們已經進入一個新的時期，這不僅對天貓國際是一次機遇，對整個跨境電商行業來說也是一次機遇。原因在于中國消費者現在不能出國旅游，可需求依然存在。” 劉一曼還補充說，平臺上最受歡迎的品類是保健品、美容儀器和家用電器。

除了簡化入駐平臺的流程，海外品牌和零售商將能享受天貓國際及其遍布全球的合作網絡提供的個性化咨詢服務、營運、內容支持及其他增值服務。天貓國際也會因地制宜地為想要入駐平臺的客商提供進一步支持。

劉一曼說，平臺的另一核心目標是吸引其他國家全球意識不夠的當地知名品牌入駐，包括由關鍵意見領袖創立的一些品牌。

據媒體報道，京東商城在2020年8月證實，它已經在韓國和新加坡舉辦了線上投資促進會，以接觸當地品牌商并幫助他們在中國尋找市場。

一些分析師認為，跨境電商保持不斷增長的趨勢也有賴于中國消費市場繁榮、物流支持鏈高度發達、政府政策十分有利等狀況。

海關總署發言人李魁文說，海關將繼續聚焦新業態的發展和企業關切，持續強化監管，優化服務，進一步完善監管和統計制度，不斷推動跨境電商新業態的高質量發展。

劉一曼表示，物流也會得到保障，天貓國際擁有從保稅倉庫到特許航班等不同的貨運物流渠道，還將對貨品進行抽檢。到目前為止，還沒有新冠陽性的病例報道。

（譯者單位：東華大學）