The latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in 2025, my country’s cross-border e-commerce import and export volume will be 2.75 trillion yuan, an increase of 69.7% over 2020. The average annual growth from 2021 to 2025 will be 11.2%, and the growth rate will be 4.1 percentage points higher than the overall import and export.
Liu Chunsheng, associate professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said that the rapid expansion of cross-border e-commerce during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period benefited from the combined effect of multiple factors.
The domestic manufacturing industry is complete and powerful, providing sufficient supply of goods; digital technology is rapidly iterating, simplifying the entire process of foreign trade business; the popularity of global online shopping continues to increase, leading to increased interactivity in domestic and foreign markets; relevant infrastructure construction continues to be improved to ensure smoother flow of goods; cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones, customs clearance facilitation and other relevant policies and measures have been implemented to collaboratively help foreign trade companies to achieve stable and long-term development.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the construction of national cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones has been upgraded. By the end of 2025, the number has reached 178, covering 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) across the country; each comprehensive pilot zone supports the promotion of enterprises to connect to the Internet and “go overseas”. By the end of 2024, a total of more than 120,000 cross-border e-commerce business entities have been cultivated, about 16,000 have been recognized as high-tech enterprises, and more than 30,000 overseas brands have been created.
Cross-border e-commerce has become an important engine for the growth of import and export of goods trade, and plays a unique role in empowering foreign trade companies, especially small and medium-sized foreign trade companies.
Zhang Yi, CEO of Guangzhou AiMedia Data Consulting Co., Ltd., said that in the context of the stable development of global inclusive trade, cross-border e-commerce is structurally reshaping the way small and medium-sized foreign trade companies participate in global trade.
It compresses the trade chain, shortens the distance between enterprises and consumers, supports fragmented and high-frequency procurement, and provides small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises with channels for “light entry”, “local delivery” and “quick settlement”, and more enterprises have obtained “tickets” to enter the global market.
Experts interviewed generally believe that small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises are the main force in foreign trade development, and a large part of them are rooted in counties.
While cross-border e-commerce helps small and medium-sized enterprises move from counties to the world, it also injects vitality into the high-quality development of county economies.
Cross-border e-commerce and industrial international development achieve mutual success.
The higher the level of industry internationalization, the easier it is for its products and services to gain favor on cross-border e-commerce platforms, which will further expand the influence of cross-border e-commerce and help it develop more markets; and the wider the market covered by cross-border e-commerce, the more it can push my country’s products and services to more corners of the world, thereby better improving the level of industry internationalization.
Lu Yue, a professor at the National Institute for Opening-up at the University of International Business and Economics, said that in recent years, cross-border e-commerce and industrial belts have been moving in both directions and combining forces, allowing clothing from the Pearl River Delta region and home appliances from the Yangtze River Delta region to “go overseas” on a large scale, releasing the aggregation effect of “1 + 1 > 2” and effectively expanding the space for foreign trade increments.
In the context of accelerated reconstruction of global industrial and supply chains and frequent geo-risk events, cross-border e-commerce is not only an important “sales channel”, but also a structural force that extends China’s industrial chains globally and maintains supply chain security in the era of digital economy.
Since this year, my country’s cross-border e-commerce has continued to work hard towards compliance, branding, intelligence and market diversification, with outstanding growth momentum and steady expansion in scale.
At the same time, various funds have accelerated their deployment to provide support for its further expansion and strengthening.
IT Orange data shows that so far, 11 investment and financing events have occurred in the cross-border e-commerce field during the year, with a total amount of 590 million yuan, far exceeding the full-year performance in 2025 (340 million yuan).
Zhu Hualei, senior investment consultant of Shaanxi Jufeng Investment Information Co., Ltd., said that the above-mentioned funds are mainly invested in four major segments: cross-border logistics, cross-border payment, digital SaaS (software as a service) and artificial intelligence supporting services, and high value-added domestic product brand incubation.
Some investors focus on the research and development of independent brands in smart home, outdoor products and other categories and localized operations in overseas markets, aiming to get rid of the traditional low-price distribution model.
