With this year’s 618 starting earlier than ever, the battle between e-commerce platforms continues to heat up. However, the warring platforms have been able to put aside their differences for a single cause. To no one’s surprise, it is over the tariff war (currently in a ceasefire), and the cause is the export of manufactured goods and their merchants. In mid-May, it was reported that Sina Finance had assembled the “big four” Chinese e-commerce platforms, Alibaba, JD.com, TikTok’s Chinese sister app Douyin and Pinduoduo from PDD Holdings Inc to present at the first-ever Expo for Export-turned Domestic Sales Goods.
The Expo will be held between 27 and 29 June at the Beijing Exhibition Center [sic]. The four platforms will collectively host the event in a hybrid online and offline format to help direct export enterprises enter domestic channels for sale in China. Not only would export merchants reach domestic users of the platforms, but they would also get a boost in exposure and sales.
Since the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Chinese goods, the term “Export-turned Domestic Sales” has often been brought up by commentators, platforms and local authorities to assist export-facing companies in surviving the precarious tariffs. JD.com has been actively working with merchants and local authorities on this front since April. Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall Group, 1688 and Goofish have also launched their programmes to boost export-turned domestic sales goods.
As export goods tend to follow stricter global standards, they are often considered higher quality compared to domestic products. But JD.com and Taobao and Tmall Group both expressed that the influx of exported goods will bring diversity and elevate the positioning of their platforms. However, as these higher-quality items often have a high price to match, they are less competitive in the domestic market among price-sensitive consumers. Measures like the Expo, hosted by platforms such as Alibaba and JD.com, will certainly help merchants lessen their burden of stock, but it is unlikely to be a sustainable substitute for the American market. With the 90-day pause on tariffs and trade talks ongoing, hopefully, they won’t need more than temporary transition measures.
Need to boost your China strategy? Dao Pro delivers bespoke insights on marketing, innovation, and digital trends, direct from Chinese sources. Find out more from our Dao Strategy Team here.
