Recently, the group standard “Business Standards for Cross-Border E-commerce Platform Enterprises and Related Service Providers” (T/CATIS 0302025) (hereinafter referred to as the “Specifications”), led by the E-Commerce Professional Committee of the China Association for Trade in Services, was officially implemented.
This is the first programmatic document for my country’s cross-border e-commerce industry. It fills the gap in systematic regulations in the field of my country’s cross-border e-commerce platform companies and related service providers, provides the industry with a full-dimensional governance reference covering traditional business and innovative models, and helps build a fair and orderly cross-border e-commerce ecosystem.
Currently, in the context of the rapid development of globalization and digitization, cross-border e-commerce has become an important part of international trade and continues to release development vitality.
Data show that global cross-border e-commerce sales will reach US$3.3 trillion in 2024, doubling compared with 2020, and the industry penetration rate will increase from 7% to 8.6%; during the same period, my country’s cross-border e-commerce transaction volume will reach 2.63 trillion yuan, an increase of 62% from 2020, and the contribution rate to import and export trade will increase from 5% to 5.9%. The industry as a whole will maintain a steady upward development trend.
At the same time, various pain points behind the rapid development of the industry have become increasingly prominent.
The person in charge of the relevant business of China Holdings Kejie, one of the important drafting units of the standard, pointed out that the cross-border e-commerce field lacks systematic regulations in terms of platform operations, logistics services, data compliance, etc., coupled with the frequent changes in the international trade situation, industrial enterprises going overseas face many confusions. Some enterprises are in development difficulties due to inconsistent compliance standards and non-standard service processes, which not only affects trade efficiency, but also intensifies the pressure of risk prevention and control, restricting the high-quality development and global expansion of the industry.
It is understood that the “Specifications” implemented this time accurately meet the development needs of the industry, comprehensively covering cross-border e-commerce platform operators, export operators, import operators, as well as logistics, finance, marketing and other related service providers, clarifying the platform, logistics, finance and other related service providers.
The qualification requirements, operational specifications and compliance bottom lines of 14 types of business entities, including financial services and cloud computing, cover all-link business links such as customs clearance, payment, and after-sales, draw clear red lines and provide practical guidance for the compliance operations of various business entities, and effectively solve the long-standing prominent problems in the industry such as fragmented standards and blurred boundaries of responsibilities.
The person in charge of relevant business of China Holdings Kejie said that during the standard preparation process, the company combined its own business to sort out the entire process of cross-border e-commerce business, and put forward constructive opinions on the content of the standard based on the situation of ecological partners.
Through standard formulation and on-site participation in meetings, the cross-border e-commerce upstream and downstream ecological cooperation network has been further expanded, and an “industrial belt + cross-border e-commerce” service ecological closed loop has been built from warehousing and logistics to cross-border payment, customs clearance and tax declaration, and marketing operations.
The person in charge of the relevant business of China Holdings Kejie believes that the core innovation of the “Specifications” is reflected in three dimensions: the systematicity of full-link coverage, which for the first time incorporates core links such as platform operations, logistics services, financial settlements, data compliance, tax declarations, etc. into unified specifications, forming a full-process guideline of “from entry to contract performance, from compliance to risk control”, which solves the problems of fragmentation and incomplete coverage of previous specifications; practice-oriented practicality, standard content
It deeply integrates the business practices of leading enterprises, including implementable operating procedures, qualification requirements, and risk prevention and control measures, which avoids “paper talks” and can be directly implemented by enterprises; it sets a programmatic benchmark for high-quality development of the industry. This standard achieves key breakthroughs in three aspects: responsibility boundaries, compliance standards, and service quality. It can effectively reduce enterprise costs, prevent risks, and help the industry shift from “barbaric growth” to “standardized quality improvement” and “quality overseas.”
Some industry experts said that the issuance and implementation of the “Specifications” is a milestone for the standardized development of the cross-border e-commerce industry. It not only effectively solves the long-standing prominent pain points of the industry, but also provides an important reference for corporate compliance innovation and industry overseas layout.
