Zhang Kuo, President of Alibaba International Station: Global digital trade is still in its early stages

" Global digital trade is still in its early stages . " Recently, at the third Digital Zhejiang Businessmen Cross-border Trade Festival , Zhang Kuo, president of Alibaba International Station, said that the International Station has been exploring the digitalization of the entire foreign trade chain for the past five years and has become a "digital outlet" for merchants at their doorsteps.

Zhang Kuo analyzed that from a horizontal perspective, digital development is uneven among regions around the world . China leads the way in e-commerce penetration, reaching 30 % . The UK, the US, and Canada are slightly lower than this figure, while other countries and regions are below 15 % or even in the single digits. Overseas digital infrastructure, including the digitalization stage, is still in its early stages .

From a vertical perspective, compared with domestic trade, the overall digitalization of foreign trade is also in its early stages. In the past 20 years, digital platforms represented by Alibaba International Station have actually solved the digitalization before the transaction link. Next , the International Station must firmly invest in digging deep into the digital value of the entire foreign trade process and promote the release of greater dividends for the entire industry.

Looking at the current situation, China's export growth rate has exceeded 30 % in 2020 and 2021 , and has maintained double-digit growth until August and September this year. In October this year , customs data fell for the first time. "But if you look at the absolute value, the total export volume in October was close to 300 billion, which is still a high point in the entire historical time node. " Zhang Kuo analyzed that although the inventory of North American retail is at a historical high and CPI is still rising, shipping is returning from a seller's market to a buyer's market, and the US consumer index is also slowly recovering.

"We believe that the recovery of consumer confidence is something that can be seen in a relatively fast cycle." Zhang Kuo pointed out that from the data of Alibaba International Station, from July to October this year , through structural adjustments in traffic and country, the platform's high-quality business opportunities (buyers and sellers interacting more than 3 times) rose rapidly. In addition, in October alone , the website's active visit traffic increased by more than 20 % .

"The major categories that are growing significantly faster now are fast-moving consumer goods, such as home gardening , personal care and household cleaning , mother and baby, and pets . Although overseas consumption willingness is suppressed, it is a rigid demand, so both the performance on the international site and the export growth rate have been outstanding. " Analyzing industry category trends based on overseas demand and market capacity , Zhang Kuo analyzed that, on the contrary, durable goods such as home appliances and sports and outdoor products are still in the cycle of consuming inventory overseas, and need to find differentiated opportunities in the category in a refined manner. Durable goods such as clothing, luggage, and jewelry are in a period of rapid growth as the pace of resumption of work and production accelerates and the frequency of overseas travel and business trips increases.

In the non-consumer industries, high-quality business opportunities in new energy, electrical and electrical, auto parts, industrial machinery, hardware tools, etc. have also grown by more than 30 % , among which the new energy industry has been in a long-term 100% growth trend in the international station .

" Data changes in the B2B field are generally 3-6 months ahead of changes in overseas consumption data . So from the data , one change that can be seen is that structured opportunities have emerged in many vertical categories. " Zhang Kuo said that grasping structural trends and insisting on high-quality growth to bring incremental growth may be the core things that foreign trade merchants need to do in the next 3-6 months .

It is reported that during the Digital Zhejiang Merchants Cross-border Trade Festival , Alibaba International Station launched a special cross-border selection live broadcast. Nearly 200 high-quality Zhejiang merchants promoted Zhejiang cross-border high-quality and popular products to global buyers through online live broadcasts . At the trade festival, Hangzhou Tianlong Handbag Co., Ltd., Yiwu Shimeng Daily Necessities Co., Ltd., and Hangzhou Xinnier Fashion Co., Ltd. simultaneously launched a 32-hour cross-border selection live broadcast show .

In addition, the " 2022 Star Search Competition Finals " will also be held during the Trade Festival.

Pan Xiaochuan , founder of Zhejiang Shanfan Import and Export Co., Ltd. , is a "little giant" in the pharmaceutical machinery industry . He exports to more than 200 countries through Alibaba International Station and personally broadcasts live, becoming the first short video influencer in the pharmaceutical machinery industry on the international station ; Jin Feiyan, CEO of Hangzhou Lampada Sporting Goods Co., Ltd. , has gone from rejecting to embracing digital foreign trade, and has grown against the trend on the international station, with performance increasing from 1 million to 120 million ; Circle , partner of Yiwu Lancui Jewelry Co., Ltd. , has been a foreign trade exhibitor for 15 years. In half a year , he became a TOP merchant on the international station , with orders quadrupled and a profit margin of 50% ; Hu Zan , general manager of Ningbo Zanmei Stationery Co., Ltd., is a second-generation returnee who transformed the family business into a modern enterprise, doubling the company's output value and quickly exceeding 100 million ; Lin Haomin, general manager of Hangzhou Newzhuo Technology Group Co., Ltd. , The "technology maniac" entered the air separation industry, benchmarked against the industry giant "Hangzhou Oxygen", and frequently won millions and tens of millions of orders on the international site ; Jiang Yingying, general manager of Wenling Weiying Import and Export Co., Ltd. , advanced from a foreign trade "small cabbage" to a "big order goddess" on the international site , completing the goal from zero to tens of millions in one year .

It took 127 days, and after auditions, preliminary rounds and semi-finals, these 6 contestants from Hangzhou, Ningbo, Yiwu, Wenzhou and Taizhou will stand on the stage of the finals to compete in their overseas business.

Alibaba

Digital Trade