For China’s cross-border e-commerce, it’s ‘unstoppable momentum’ vs ‘big challenges’
Former deputy secretary general for China’s State Council warns of a potential negative impact from foreign import tariffs on small packages
China’s surging cross-border e-commerce industry, led by globally known marketplaces such as Shein and Temu, is likely to face “big challenges” – such as the US’ change in small-package duties and requirement for data localisation – a highly placed former official said on Thursday.
Jiang Xiaojuan, who used to be deputy secretary general for the State Council, told a Boao Forum for Asia panel that the prospect of foreign import tariffs on small packages – basically individual orders shipped in from China – could have a negative impact.
“At present, cross-border e-commerce is still in a relatively favourable policy environment, but judging from the signals sent by some countries, they seem to be considering adjustments, such as whether to reduce or exempt the tax exemption for packages,” said Jiang, now a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Her comment comes as US President Donald Trump steps up tariffs around the world in a bid to rekindle American manufacturing by making non-US goods more expensive.
Days later, the US temporarily put the exemption back until authorities figured out how to collect tariffs on all the packages flooding across the border from China.
The de minimis exemption – which allowed packages worth less than US$800 to enter the US tariff-free – has played a big role in making Shein, Temu and other Chinese e-commerce platforms so successful in recent years.
Other challenges include the requirement on data localisation and carbon footage tracking, Jiang added.
“All these pose huge challenges to small businesses,” she said. “So, I think there are still some uncertainties surrounding the future development of cross-border e-commerce. From the current point of view, the challenge is still relatively large.”