The cross-border e-commerce industry in east China's Zhejiang Province has emerged as a key driver of foreign trade growth in China, particularly in the sports goods sector, according to the latest customs data.
With major sporting events like the UEFA Euro 2024 and the Paris Olympics fueling demand, Zhejiang-made products are best-selling on the global stage.
According to Hangzhou Customs statistics, from January to July, Zhejiang's sports goods exports reached 18.5 billion yuan (about 2.6 billion U.S. dollars), a year-on-year increase of 26.9 percent, exceeding Zhejiang's average export growth rate by 19 percentage points. Notably, exports to France saw a significant increase of 53.3 percent.
Yiwu, the world's largest wholesale market for small commodities in Zhejiang, has witnessed a boom in sports goods exports this year, according to Xu Xiaobing from the Statistical Analysis Division of the Yiwu Customs Office under Hangzhou Customs.
"The holding of international sports events such as the European Cup and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has brought a 'big year' for Yiwu sporting goods exports this year. From January to July, Yiwu's exports of sports goods and equipment reached 5.81 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 37.8 percent," said Xu.
This success is attributed to the mature industrial chain and efficient logistics network built by Zhejiang's pioneering cross-border e-commerce sector, enabling businesses to capitalize on the "sports economy" opportunities.
At China's first cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone, located in Hangzhou, batches of cross-border e-commerce retail export goods arrive at the Hangzhou Bonded Logistics Center (Type B) under customs supervision.
After swift customs clearance, these goods are exported through five airports in the Yangtze River Delta region, including Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport, based on cargo flight capacity.
"Normally, overseas consumers receive goods shipped by China's domestic sellers within 5 to 7 days after placing an order on e-commerce platforms. This attracts more overseas consumers to place orders with domestic e-commerce businesses," said Chen Min, a customs manager at an international freight forwarding company.
Currently, the Hangzhou Bonded Logistics Center handles over 100,000 cross-border e-commerce parcels daily. Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, located near the logistics center, has significantly enhanced its cargo handling capacity by commissioning China's first "multi-layered structure plus intelligent" international cargo terminal and increasing the frequency of all-cargo flights.
To date, the airport has opened 27 all-cargo flight routes, 12 of which connect to airports ranked among the top 25 globally in terms of cargo and mail throughput, providing strong logistics support for cross-border e-commerce goods exports from Zhejiang.
At the end of July, the airport launched a direct all-cargo flight route between Hangzhou and Osaka, Japan, enabling cross-border e-commerce goods destined for Japan to reach their destination "next day." "We have integrated the customs supervision process into the enterprise logistics process, leveraging intelligent customs construction, such as using intelligent simultaneous screen comparison, intelligent image review and sorting to further compress customs clearance time. From January to July this year, Hangzhou Airport's outbound cargo volume reached 96,700 tons, a year-on-year increase of 53.7 percent, of which cross-border e-commerce export cargo volume reached 65,200 tons, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the airport's total outbound cargo volume, showcasing a trend of 'cargo e-commerce'," said Bao Minwei, an official of Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport Customs under the Hangzhou Customs.
Thriving cross-border e-commerce in Zhejiang drives foreign trade growth
