E-commerce platforms in China's Taiwan region have witnessed surging sales during the "Double 11" online shopping festival which usually lasts from late October to mid-November, with a great number of consumers enjoying the convenient shopping experience and the online shopping bonanza.
The "Double 11" online shopping festival was first initiated by Alibaba in 2009 on the mainland.
Taiwan businesses has been joining the mainland's "Double 11" online shopping festival since 2013. It has become a major annual commercial event which stimulates consumption and boosts the economy.
This year, young people in Taiwan are enthusiastic about the shopping festival, with many buying trendy clothing and innovative electronic products from the mainland with the promotional discount activities on e-commerce platforms.
"There are free shipping vouchers or discounts during the shopping festival. I buy things like clothes and bags from the mainland," said a local resident.
"I just bought a new bag and a water bottle. The shipping was very fast, and they arrived almost the next day," said another resident.
Experts say the popularity of the online shopping festival in Taiwan shows the great potential in logistics, trade, and innovative collaboration between both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
"More and more young people in Taiwan are shopping online. I believe that in such circumstances, e-commerce on both sides of the Strait should leverage their strengths to complement each other so as to deliver mutual benefits. The mainland has been at the forefront of e-commerce development with advanced platforms for purchasing goods and highly sophisticated payment systems. Both sides of the Taiwan Strait should work together to bridge gaps, eliminate trade barriers, and accelerate the development of e-commerce," said Deng Daixian, secretary-general of the Straits Economic and Cultural Interchange Association.
Taiwan consumers enjoy "Double 11" online shopping festival
As the 2024 APEC gathering commences in Lima, Peru, China's deepening partnerships with Latin American nations - bolstered by trade, investment, and the Belt and Road initiative - serves as a key example of the country's commitment to fostering inclusive economic cooperation across the Asia-Pacific region.
Under the overarching theme of "Empower. Include. Grow," APEC Peru 2024 which is running from Nov. 10-16, will bring leaders of its 21 member economies together to set the agenda for the Asia-Pacific region, with trade and investment for inclusive and interconnected growth beiamong the priority areas.
At the APEC media center next to the meeting's main venue, booths promoting new technologies and sustainable development are set up. Organizers say Peru is seeking opportunities to connect the largest markets and insert Peruvian companies in regional and global value chains.
In an opinion article posted on the website of the China Global Television Network (CGTN) last weekend, Peru's Ambassador to China Marco Balarezo wrote that exports to APEC economies represented 68.5 percent of Peru's total international transactions in 2023, and that the Asia-Pacific provides a critical region of opportunities and incorporation in the regional and global supply chains.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend this year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and pay a state visit to Peru from Wednesday to Sunday, with this being his sixth visit to Latin America since 2013.
An updated free trade agreement (FTA) between Peru and China, set to be signed during President Xi's visit, is another example of how APEC 2024 will bolster the economy, according to Ambassador Balarezo.
China is Latin America's second-largest trading partner and main source of investment, as well as the top trading partner for many countries in the region including Peru. It has signed Free Trade Agreements with five Latin American economies and established high-quality Belt and Road cooperation with 22 Latin American and Caribbean countries. The cooperation has grown beyond traditional areas like trade, finance, and infrastructure to include newer fields such as energy, the digital economy, and aerospace.
One of the flagship cooperative projects, the China-built Chancay Megaport north of Lima, set to become fully operational shortly after the APEC meeting, is establishing Peru as a gateway for South American trade to Asian markets. Beyond that, Balarezo said Peru invites all APEC enterprises to invest in this near-term endeavor.
Since it started over 30 years ago, APEC has turned into a powerful driver of economic growth and one of the most important forums in the Asia-Pacific region. With 21 member economies, APEC represents around 62 percent of the world's GDP and nearly half of global trade.
APEC is the first regional economic cooperation organization that China joined back in 1991. Experts believe China has accelerated the pace of opening up through APEC cooperation and has provided huge opportunities for economic and trade development in the Asia-Pacific region.
Strengthened China-Latin America ties epitomize APEC's push for inclusive economic cooperation
