Hundreds of e-commerce vendors and platforms including Alibaba Group Holding and Amazon flocked to a trade fair in Shenzhen in the hopes of connecting with producers and clients and stocking up for what they hope is a bout of robust post-Covid recovery in the global economy.
The American retail juggernaut Walmart was also in attendance at the event, one of the first major in-person exhibitions to be staged in the city since China reopened its international borders.
More than 100,000 visitors are estimated to have attended the three-day China (Shenzhen) Cross-border E-commerce Fair which ended on Friday, about the same number as the last time the event was held, in 2021.
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That surpassed the expectations of the organisers and many of the exhibitors, providing a much needed confidence boost for Shenzhen, a technology hub in the Greater Bay Area, and for the country in general.
China is trying to get back on its feet after economic growth slowed to 3 per cent last year, the slowest since 1976 when excluding the 2.2 per cent gain in 2020 when the coronavirus first emerged.
The country’s e-commerce market saw at least 89 online shopping platforms close down last year, as the sector struggled with rigid Covid-19 control measures, fierce competition and weak consumer spending amid a flagging domestic economy, according to a report by retail data provider Linkshop.com.
Shenzhen is working on regulations and proposals to boost its own cross-border e-commerce sector, according to Zeng Jinhui, head of the e-commerce department at the Commerce Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality. The city is drafting a plan to set up an international livestreaming service platform to boost the use of the medium in online commerce.
“Shenzhen has many opportunities, rich soil and strong atmosphere, and an outstanding ecosystem for developing cross-border e-commerce,” said Zeng on the opening day of the event.
The booth of Sanuker, a Hong Kong start-up that helps businesses and organisations set up shops and communicate with their customers on WhatsApp, was surrounded by a crowd of people making inquiries about its service.
“It’s the first time we’ve attended a trade show in Shenzhen, and the turnout has far exceeded our expectation,” said Burton Chau, general manager of Sanuker.
It was standing room only for forum sessions in which e-commerce giants including Amazon and Alibaba provided guidance on how merchants can set up and run businesses on their platforms.
“It’s our first time to come to an exhibition [since the reopening of borders], we have lined up marketing and exhibition events in almost every month in the first half of this year,” said Lee, a sales person at Olansi, a Guangzhou-based manufacturer of air and water purifiers, who only gave her last name.
Some 1,600 exhibitors participated in the fair, down from about 2,000 in 2021, including suppliers, manufacturers, services providers, e-commerce platforms and purchasers, according to organisers.
Luo Yiming, general manager at Ningbo Anke Electrical Technology, expects to sell more than 100,000 electric stove heaters this year, with the help of events like the Shenzhen expo.
“We were unable to meet business partners in person, and now finally we are able to see each other,” he said.
China’s booming cross-border e-commerce sector is expected to reach 2.95 trillion yuan (US$430 billion) in 2024, more than double its value in 2021, according to Guangzhou-based iiMedia Research Group. Cross-border online trade jumped 9.8 per cent to 2.11 trillion yuan in 2022, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.
Local governments in China have ramped up efforts to boost cross-border e-commerce, establishing pilot zones in dozens of cities, including Langfang in Hebei and Dali in southwestern Yunnan province.
“In general we are positive about the business outlook this year,” after the relaxation of Covid restrictions, said a salesperson for Yiwu Bewalker Commodity, a company that produces memory-foam and polystyrene bead pillows, and seat cushions.
Although companies in some emerging sectors – such as energy storage and fitness devices – saw an uptick in sales in the few months since China reopened its border, companies that sell non-essential goods are yet to see a meaningful rebound.
“Maybe people are cautious about consumption [given the economic slowdown globally],” said the Yiwu Bewalker salesperson, who declined to be named.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
