Thursday, April 18

Amazon to Soon Allow Chinese Merchants Sell Goods in 185 countries, Regions

Chinese merchants will soon be able to sell their goods in 185 countries and regions through e-commerce giant Amazon’s online marketplace, state media reported today.

Amazon signed a deal with a cross-border e-commerce pilot zone in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, to let traders use its site to sell to its 285-million active paying customers worldwide.

Amazon’s global logistic network will deliver goods from China to 185 countries and regions, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Cross-border sales account for nearly one fourth of total revenue from third party merchants in Amazon’s global marketplaces. The number of Chinese traders there doubled in first quarter from a year ago.

Zhejiang province is looking to cross-border e-commerce to shore up trade, which shed 0.9% in the first four months. Exports edged up only 0.3% in the same period. E-commerce has offset much of the slump in traditional exports.