China is pushing to build warehouses abroad

A worker works at the warehouse of Chinese company Elogistic UK, near Birmingham, Britain, Jan. 28, 2022. (Photo/Xinhua)

China will promote the construction of overseas warehouses and expand cross-border e-commerce exports, He Yadong, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said on Thursday.

Cross-border e-commerce is an important driver of China’s foreign trade development. He told a regular news conference that cross-border e-commerce in China has increased more than tenfold over the past five years.

The ministry will insist on publishing guidelines on expanding cross-border e-commerce exports and accelerating the construction of overseas warehouses, he added.

In the first quarter of 2024, China’s cross-border e-commerce reached 577.6 billion yuan (approximately USD 81.23 billion), up 9.6% year-on-year, of which exports amounted to 448 billion yuan with a growth rate of 14%.

There are over 120,000 cross-border e-commerce entities and over 1,000 cross-border e-commerce industrial parks in China. The number of foreign warehouses has so far exceeded 2,500, occupying a total area of ​​over 30 million square meters.