In the process of high-quality development of my country’s foreign trade, cross-border e-commerce is playing an increasingly crucial role.
On January 14, core data released at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office showed that my country’s cross-border e-commerce imports and exports will reach 2.75 trillion yuan in 2025, a surge of 69.7% compared to 2020. The press conference also mentioned the “new business models and new developments” in the cross-border e-commerce sector. This development trend is an important support for the growth of cross-border e-commerce scale, specifically manifested in innovative breakthroughs in trade models, operating forms, and service systems.
In recent years, the cross-border e-commerce industry has continued to benefit from favorable policies.
On April 22, 2025, the State Council issued a relevant approval, clarifying the need to further improve the statistical system for cross-border e-commerce, implement support policies such as exempting cross-border e-commerce retail export goods within comprehensive pilot zones from value-added tax and consumption tax as stipulated, allow enterprises to choose assessed collection of corporate income tax, and automatically apply relevant policies for cross-border e-commerce retail imports to cities (regions) where comprehensive pilot zones are located and which meet regulatory requirements as confirmed by local customs, and support enterprises in jointly building and sharing overseas warehouses. On December 25, 2025, the General Administration of Customs and the State Taxation Administration jointly issued an announcement that, starting from January 1, 2026, they would jointly implement online verification of electronic data and customs declaration electronic data. This measure further optimizes the port business environment and adds further support to the facilitation of cross-border trade. The benefits of regional trade agreements have also broadened the channels for enterprises to go global. 2026 marks the fifth year since the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into effect, and tariff reductions and other favorable policies have injected momentum into Zhejiang enterprises’ integration into the regional industrial chain and expansion into overseas markets. According to data from Hangzhou Customs, as of November 2025, a total of 295,000 certificates of origin had been issued since the RCEP came into effect, corresponding to a preferential export value of 80.69 billion yuan. Driven by both policy and market forces, the industry’s development direction is becoming increasingly clear. Currently, cross-border e-commerce has entered a mature stage driven by both efficiency and brand. In the next 3 to 5 years, deep technological penetration, accelerated brand expansion overseas, and differentiation in emerging markets will be the core evolutionary directions. Technological applications will further drive operational efficiency improvements, and the influence of Chinese brands in overseas e-commerce markets will continue to expand. Relying on industry growth, brand transformation has become an important direction for listed cross-border e-commerce companies to cope with homogeneous competition, and related companies are intensively advancing capital and business layout. For example, Hangzhou Great Star Technology Co., Ltd. expects its net profit attributable to the parent company in 2025 to be between RMB 2.419 billion and RMB 2.764 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 5% to 20%. As a leading global hand tool company, it owns multiple brands and has acquired overseas, building a brand matrix covering different market segments and price ranges. The recent moves of Zhejiang China Commodity City Group Co., Ltd., a leading cross-border e-commerce company, have also attracted attention. The company signed a strategic investment agreement with Egatee, an African B2B e-commerce platform, to strengthen the construction of the China-Africa digital trade channel. Relying on the core supply chain advantages of Yiwu, the company has built a cross-border full-chain service system and a global overseas warehouse network, which not only helps small and medium-sized merchants go global, but also steadily increases its own cross-border business scale. In response to global market tariff adjustments and the differentiation of consumer demand, localization has become a key path for listed companies to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Loctek Ergonomics Technology Co., Ltd. launched its self-built overseas warehouse strategy in 2024. Its first self-built warehouse in Georgia, USA, was completed and delivered at the end of 2025 and officially put into use in January 2026. Currently, the company continues to advance the construction of its US warehouse network, strengthen investment in the automation and informatization of overseas warehouses, improve operational efficiency through the large-scale application of self-developed equipment and information systems, and improve its end-to-end cross-border logistics service system to help itself and its partner merchants reduce costs and increase efficiency. In addition, some companies have raised funds through overseas listings, focusing the raised funds on global after-sales systems, R&D laboratories, and other areas to further solidify the foundation for brand globalization. The cross-border e-commerce industry has entered a critical stage of transformation from scale to refinement. The core growth points will be concentrated on increasing penetration rates in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and the export of high-value-added categories. The multi-brand matrix, global warehousing and distribution network, and end-to-end ecosystem integration explored by leading companies are valuable for reference. Listed companies with independent brands and global resource allocation capabilities are expected to continue to expand their global market share, drive further growth in the industry, and help my country’s foreign trade continue to improve in quality and efficiency.
