Four Chinese Cross-Border E-Commerce 'Dragons' Challenge Amazon

Regulatory challenges are rising, with scrutiny on pricing, compliance, and trade practices, while platforms like Temu push aggressive growth and cost strategies, impacting traditional retail

In 2023, four key players have emerged in China's e-commerce market as they expand overseas: Pinduoduo's Temu, fast fashion retailer SHEIN, Alibaba's AliExpress, and TikTok's e-commerce platform TikTok Shop.

According to a recent report by market analysis firm data.ai, in 2023, the top two shopping apps in terms of global downloads and download growth were Temu and SHEIN. AliExpress ranked third and fourth in download numbers and growth, respectively. Meanwhile, TikTok was the most downloaded social application globally during the same period, with over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide.

In 2023, China's total exports amounted to 23.77 trillion yuan, marking a modest year-on-year increase of 0.6%. Meanwhile, cross-border e-commerce exports surged to 1.83 trillion yuan, representing a significant growth of 19.6%. In contrast, the year-on-year growth rate for nationwide online retail sales of physical goods was 8.4%. In the first quarter of 2024, China's export performance improved, registering a year-on-year increase of 4.9%.