In 5 minutes every morning, you will know the latest news about cross-border e-commerce in Southeast Asia before others.
The following is a detailed report on May 25, 2026.
Hot news
On the evening of May 23, the 2026 Thailand Shopping Festival, hosted by the Commercial Section of the Consulate General of Thailand in Nanning, was launched in Nanning, Guangxi, lasting for half a month, and the Durian Festival was launched simultaneously.
Durian, mangosteen, Thai fragrant rice, Thai snacks and other specialty products are concentrated in local supermarkets, taking the consumer Internet between China and Thailand a step further.
The overseas export of Chinese products is transforming from ‘cost-effectiveness’ to ‘appearance economy’.
Young people in Southeast Asia no longer only look at price and parameters, but also value design and personalized expression. Chinese merchants with differentiated design and brand power are taking advantage of this trend to quickly open up the market.
On May 23, a container train carrying 170 tons of calcium hydroxide departed from Guigang Station in Guangxi, transferred through Nanning International Railway Port, and went directly to Anyuan Station in Vietnam. This is the second new China-Vietnam cross-border logistics route after ‘Liuzhou-Nanning-Vietnam’, adding a stable and efficient new channel for economic and trade exchanges between Guangxi and Vietnam.
On May 22-23, the Suzhou APEC meeting issued the “Suzhou Statement”. All parties approved the updated version of the “APEC Service Industry Roadmap” and agreed to promote mutual recognition of cross-border trade documents such as electronic bills of lading and electronic invoices, promote cross-border data flow, support WTO e-commerce negotiations, and create a more convenient institutional environment for cross-border e-commerce.
After Temu returns to the Vietnamese market, it currently only supports bank card and Apple Pay payments. Mainstream local e-wallets have not yet been connected, and has a minimum consumption threshold of about US$34, forming a differentiated competitive situation with Shopee and TikTok Shop.
JD.com obtained approximately 59.8% of the voting rights of Ceconomy through its wholly-owned subsidiary, and the combined shareholding will reach 85.2%. The transaction values Ceconomy as a whole at approximately 2.2 billion euros (over 18 billion yuan), setting a new record for the scale of a single acquisition by domestic e-commerce companies in Europe, and accelerating the localization layout in Europe.
Platform Policies
TikTok Shop Southeast Asia’s “100 Million Yuan Express” plan continues to release dividends. It provides eight benefits including commission reductions for up to 120 days, monthly supply replenishment of up to US$15,000, and advertising incentives of US$10,000 for domestic platform sellers with annual sales of more than 25 million yuan or cross-border platform sellers with annual sales of more than 8 million yuan. In 2025, more than half of merchants participating in similar plans will have sales exceeding 100 million.
Shopee Vietnam will forcefully deduct at least 1% of each order to recharge the advertising account starting from May 29. The ‘maintain display’ policy will automatically deduct at least 1% of the amount from each successful order to recharge the advertising account. Sellers cannot refuse, and operating costs will further increase passively. Profit margins need to be calculated in advance and advertising efficiency optimized.
Lazada Vietnam’s handling fee will rise to 6% + 3,000 VND technical infrastructure fee per order starting from May 26. The handling fee for each successful order will be increased from 5% to 6% (including VAT), and a new 3,000 VND technical infrastructure fee will be added. The comprehensive cost of Vietnamese sellers has risen again, and multi-platform price comparison and local warehouse layout have become the key to cope with this.
Amazon has launched a new AI shopping assistant Alexa for Shopping, which can complete the entire process of search, price comparison and ordering through voice. For third-party sellers who rely on search traffic, Listing keyword strategies and A+ page optimization logic will face reconstruction.
SHEIN announced the acquisition of the American sustainable fashion brand Everlane. This is an important signal for its transformation from ‘ultra-low-priced fast fashion’ to ‘branding and sustainable development’. It also provides Chinese cross-border sellers with a new reference path for brands to go overseas.
Market Trends
With the rise of the ‘appearance economy’, design power is becoming the core competitiveness of Southeast Asia’s exports.
In the past, the world relied on cost-effectiveness, but now young people in Southeast Asia are willing to pay for designs that are “good-looking, fun, and expressive of personality.” Chinese products with strong design capabilities and brand premium capabilities are rapidly seizing the market, and appearance has become the second growth curve after price.
The 2026 TikTok Shop Southeast Asia Cross-border E-commerce Annual Summit has been held in Guangzhou. Platform data shows that content e-commerce GMV has reached US$49.7 billion, accounting for 32% of the total GMV. Short videos + live streaming are still the most important sources of growth for Southeast Asian e-commerce.
According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China’s cross-border e-commerce exports will reach 1.83 trillion yuan in 2023, an increase of 19.6%. The growth rate far exceeds that of traditional goods trade exports. Cross-border e-commerce has become the most important new driving force for China’s foreign trade, and Southeast Asia is one of the core incremental markets.
After JD.com acquires Ceconomy, it will use MediaMarkt and Saturn’s offline store networks in Europe to promote Chinese brands to enter European offline channels, and cross-border e-commerce will move from ‘online overseas’ to a new stage of ‘online and offline integrated overseas’.
Logistics and Payment
Guangxi’s cross-border logistics network continues to intensify. Following the regular operation of the ‘Liuzhou-Nanning-Vietnam’ train, the second China-Vietnam cross-border logistics route has been officially opened. It is expected to further reduce the logistics timeliness and cost from Guangxi to Vietnam, and facilitate cross-border sellers’ deployment in the Vietnamese market.
Qingdao Customs has launched the 2026 version of the ‘Policy Toolbox’, focusing on six aspects, including deepening innovation in customs clearance supervision and optimizing supervision of new foreign trade formats, innovating the ‘pre-supervision warehouse’ and ‘return center warehouse’ models for cross-border e-commerce exports, and smoothing out new logistics paths for ‘Silk Road e-commerce’ in Central Asia.
The Thai government promotes the ‘Thaisupai Plus 60/40’ project, which opened merchant registration on May 25. The consumption period is from June 1 to September 30, covering the online takeout system (extended to 21:00), helping small and medium-sized merchants to increase their income, and also providing new opportunities for cross-border merchants to enter Thailand’s local consumption scene.
During the APEC meeting, more than 2,500 major merchants in Suzhou have launched Alipay’s “foreign card binding” and Alipay + “outsourced internal use” services. Ant’s “APEC Business Travel Internet Action” has entered a new stage of digitalization from payment connectivity, and China-ASEAN cross-border consumption scenarios continue to expand.
News from various countries
The Vietnamese government approved the social security adjustment plan. Starting from July 1, pensions, social security subsidies and monthly subsidies will be increased by 8%, covering 9 beneficiary groups. Among them, people who have paid less than 15 years and are under the age of 75 are included in the adjustment scope for the first time. Vietnam’s local consumption power is expected to further increase.
The Vietnamese government promulgated Decree No. 182/2026, which stipulates an industry preferential subsidy system for teachers, educational managers and support staff in public education institutions. It will take effect from July 7. The subsidy range is divided into levels from 20% to 80%. Vietnam’s human resources costs will continue to rise.
THAIFEX – ANUGA ASIA 2026 will be held at the Impact Exhibition Center in Bangkok from May 26th to 30th. The exhibition hall is fully open and covers an area of 140,000 square meters. It is expected to attract about 90,000 visitors from 130 countries. It is one of the most important exhibitions in the food and beverage industry in Southeast Asia.
The Thai government’s ‘Thai Thai Plus 60/40’ project has opened merchant registrations since May 25. The consumption period is from 06:00 to 23:00 every day from June 1 to September 30. The consumption of the takeout system is extended to 21:00, providing a policy window period for cross-border merchants to deploy localized operations in Thailand.
Interesting facts about Southeast Asia
Hundreds of Thai products were unveiled in Nanning. Durian, mangosteen, and Tom Yum Instant Noodles were lined up. The scene was extremely popular. Some netizens joked: “You don’t have to go abroad to visit the Thai night market. Cross-border e-commerce has brought ‘Thailand’ into the small market.
District Supermarket!
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Vietnam’s pension and social security subsidies will be increased by 8% starting from July. The increase in local consumption power is a good thing, but sellers’ costs are also rising simultaneously. Vietnamese sellers on social media have posted “profit comparison charts before and after the price increase”, and the comment area is full of “laughing with tears”.
Bangkok Impact Exhibition Center on May 26, 140,000 square meters, 3,600 exhibitors, and visitors from 130 countries——
Some cross-border sellers said: “This is not an exhibition, this is the ‘Double 11’ in Southeast Asia’s food and beverage industry ahead of schedule!”
JD.com’s acquisition of Ceconomy detonated the cross-border circle. Some sellers lamented in the community: “JD.com is ‘opening a store’ in Europe. When will we, small sellers, be able to open an offline experience store in Munich?”
Today’s brief review
The most noteworthy thing today is that ‘appearance economy’ has officially become a new keyword for overseas travel in Southeast Asia.
In the past, the core competitiveness of Chinese products in Southeast Asia was cost-effectiveness, but now young people in Southeast Asia, especially Gen Z, are willing to pay a premium for design, brand, and “things that can express their personality.”
This is a signal that cross-border sellers in the Southeast Asian market need to think carefully – it will become increasingly difficult to simply buy low prices; players with design, brand and content capabilities will get the largest share of this wave of ‘appearance bonus’.
On the other hand, China-Vietnam trains have added new routes, Qingdao Customs has implemented 40 measures, and domestic logistics and customs clearance facilitation for Southeast Asia continues to accelerate.
For sellers, this means that the combination of “overseas warehouse + cross-border direct shipping” can be more flexible – hot-selling SKUs can be shipped overseas to ensure timeliness, and long-tail SKUs can be shipped cross-border to reduce costs. The balance point between the two is moving in a more favorable direction.
One last reminder: Shopee Vietnam’s policy of compulsory deduction of advertising fees on May 29th only has 4 days left. Bosses who haven’t settled the accounts yet may have to work overtime this weekend.
Doing cross-border business is like planting a durian tree. It only grows leaves but no flowers for the first three years, and only starts to bear fruit in the fourth year.
Many people give up in the third year, which is a pity.
In fact, every time you optimize a listing, every time you reply to a customer service message, every time you analyze competitive product data, you are watering and fertilizing the roots.
Don’t worry, your ‘durian season’ will come sooner or later, and once it starts bearing fruit, it will be one season a year, for decades.
Hold on, cross-border people!
[Today’s topic] The ‘appearance economy’ is on the rise, and Chinese brands are relying on design to conquer young people in Southeast Asia – how much do you think the ‘appearance premium’ can achieve in your category?
Is the design investment worth it?
Or is it that the Southeast Asian market is still a ‘price-sensitive’ world after all?
Welcome to chat about your observations and judgments in the comment area.
