From the Capital of Commerce to the Capital of E-Commerce

Located in the geometric center of Asia-Pacific, Guangzhou is the southern gateway of China and has been one of the most important ports for foreign trade since ancient times. In ancient Rome, the silk shipped from Guangzhou was the most precious goods on the Mediterranean coast.

 

In the past three decades, Guangzhou has grown rapidly as an important shipping center, logistics center and trade center in China, and one ripe for Cross Border E-Commerce trade.

 

A Robust Cross Border E-Commerce Trade

After becoming a pilot city in cross-border e-commerce in 2013, Guangzhou’s e-commerce imports and exports rose rapidly. In 2017, cross-border e-commerce trade hit 22.7 billion yuan (3.6 billion US dollars), up 55 percent from a year ago.

The surge in cross-border trade volume benefited from improved clearance efficiency. Currently more than 90 percent of imported products in Guangzhou can clear customs clearance in mere seconds.

“We used to have to run at least six times between different departments to declare to customs, now we just do a few clicks of the mouse,” said Li Yibin, with an e-commerce company.

“Exporting small goods by post is faster and cost-effective”

While more Chinese consumers go online to purchase goods from overseas, more small and medium-sized enterprises are selling products in the reverse direction thanks to the expansion of courier services.

“Exporting small goods by post is faster and cost-effective,” said Lin Manyun with China Postal Express & Logistics Co. Ltd.

Last year, Guangzhou customs approved and sent more than 800 types of Chinese products to over 180 overseas markets. Of them about 90 percent were exported by post.