Martial Arts and Jingdong Hold 'China E-commerce Export Strategy Online Seminar'

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) jointly held an online seminar titled "Post-COVID, China E-commerce Export Strategy" on the 20th with JD.com Group, one of China's two major e-commerce companies.

Held via the video conferencing platform Zoom, this seminar was organized to provide domestic small and medium-sized export companies struggling with overseas marketing due to COVID-19 with information on the rapidly growing overseas direct purchase market in China and guidance on how to utilize online platforms.

The seminar featured video presentations on trends in China's cross-border e-commerce, how to enter JD.com's overseas direct purchase platform Worldwide, logistics and marketing support, and successful cases of utilizing JD.com. During the video screening, questions from viewers were relayed in real-time by KITA's Global Marketing Headquarters connecting with the Beijing branch to deliver answers from JD.com's local representatives, and additional interviews were conducted after the seminar ended.

Philip Liu, Business Director of JD.com, stated, "Chinese overseas direct purchasers value product differentiation and cost-effectiveness. The main consumer base currently consists of those born in the 1980s and 1990s, but consumption by those born between 1995 and 2000 is rapidly growing, and the number of overseas direct purchase users is expected to reach 200 million this year." He added, "In the first quarter, the top-selling categories on JD Worldwide were beauty, infant products, health supplements, and personal care, and by country, Korea ranked fourth after the United States, Japan, and Australia."

In response to a viewer's question about "How were Korean products selling on the JD.com platform during the COVID-19 quarantine period?" a JD.com representative answered, "Korean products such as beauty items, infant products, and food were very popular. Specifically, skincare, sheet masks, infant formula, children's snacks, ramen, and gim (seaweed) ranked high in sales."

Regarding inquiries about the "Mandatory designation of a domestic agent for overseas sellers in China" under China's e-commerce law enacted last year, it was explained, "By utilizing JD.com's sales agency partner group, the Global Alliance, overseas offices can reduce the burden of operation and agent designation, and also receive professional online store management and marketing support." Other questions continued regarding product delivery methods, logistics costs, how to use JD Global Alliance, and support policies for entering JD Worldwide.

Cho Hak-hee, Director of KITA's International Business Headquarters, stated, "Due to the pandemic, demand for safe and reliable products within China has greatly increased. Now, with the image of a health-advanced country gained through K-quarantine, we must actively target the Chinese premium consumer goods market by utilizing online overseas direct purchase platforms."