General

March 21st coincides with the spring equinox. On the same day, in the face of external concerns about the growth trend of China's foreign trade this year, Zhang Kuao, President of Alibaba International Station, stated at the annual media communication meeting that, just like the increasingly warm weather, the overall environment of China's foreign trade is also improving, with digital foreign trade being an important manifestation.

Statistics from Alibaba International Station show that since this year, international trade demand on this platform has increased by 30% year-on-year. Entering February and March, this growth rate is still rising further. Among them, the highest year-on-year growth rate of "high-quality business opportunities" in Alibaba International Station reached 48%, and the highest year-on-year growth rate of the number of independent visiting buyers reached 43%.

According to Zhang Kuao, inventory levels in some consumer countries have now begun to peak and decline. Among them, the retail data in the US market is stable, and the destocking cycle is expected to continue into the second half of this year. Looking for structural growth opportunities for target groups and categories may become a new growth opportunity for China's foreign trade.

He said that since last year, the consumer price index (CPI) of European and American countries has gradually declined, the consumer confidence index of the United States is rising, the manufacturing industry in ASEAN, the Middle East and South America along the the Belt and Road has recovered rapidly, and the sales of consumer and non consumer goods have shown different recovery and warming trends in different regions.

Judging from the specific performance of different national markets, the sales of consumer products in the European and American markets on Alibaba International Station have begun to pick up, while the demand for non consumer goods such as building materials, machinery and equipment has grown rapidly in regional markets such as ASEAN and the Middle East.

On Alibaba International Station, the changes in international trade market demand also present different industry opportunities. New hot foreign trade industries such as new energy, building materials, machinery, new energy vehicles and their accessories have maintained rapid growth. At the ongoing Alibaba International Station New Trade Festival in March, new energy charging piles and other products became "hot items", and overseas demand increased by 218%.

In the consumer goods industry, overseas buyers pursue both cost performance and personalized products with micro innovation and multi-function integration. During the New Trade Festival in March, innovative products such as smart wear and smart pet feeding were welcomed by overseas buyers.

Faced with external concerns about the transfer of some of China's foreign trade industries and the challenges posed by some Southeast Asian countries to China's international trade export market, Zhang Kuao said, "Although some developed countries have always advocated 'manufacturing industry reflow', it can be seen from the manufacturing purchasing manager index (PMI) that only a small number of vertical categories can truly reflow, and the overall manufacturing category reflow is still difficult." From the perspective of consumer goods, China's supply of consumer durables (clothing, 3C) and fast moving consumer goods (mother and baby, pet products), It has a relatively rich category and diversified layout. Despite some fluctuations, overall, China's foreign trade exports have maintained a very good development.

According to Zhang Kuao, the total export volume of China's foreign trade is not in the same order of magnitude as that of Southeast Asian countries. China has a vast territory, with tens of millions of newly generated industrial and technological population each year, while each country in Southeast Asia has only hundreds of thousands. "From the data of the past 11 months, when China's international trade exports encountered difficulties, the number of orders from some countries in Southeast Asia fell even faster," said Zhang Kuo.

Looking forward to the future, Zhang Kuo believes that technological innovation may have a profound impact on the foreign trade industry, and intelligence and video will define the next generation of foreign trade experience.

In the future, Alibaba International Station will increase the innovation and application of intelligent technology, optimize the procurement experience, and significantly reduce the daily operating costs and thresholds of foreign trade merchants. At the same time, in terms of cross-border logistics, capital flow services, etc., Alibaba International Station will also provide foreign trade merchants with a smoother experience through new technologies.

At the same time, the use of video has also improved the efficiency of businesses. According to data, in March this year, the number of overseas buyers watching cross-border live streaming on Alibaba International Station has tripled compared to the same period last year. Unlike direct live streaming for consumers, Alibaba International's cross-border live streaming is specifically provided for overseas buyers to watch. In the past, when overseas buyers communicated with Chinese international trading companies, it was often difficult to directly understand the factory situation behind the samples. Now that you have video, it's clear at a glance, and you can communicate directly through the camera, making communication more efficient and building trust faster.

In response, Lai Guorong, founder of Alibaba International Station merchant Zhejiang Aidu Clothing, has a deep understanding of this: "As long as foreign customers are willing to video with us, there is no one who does not win a deal." And Shandong machinery company "Lingpin" has sold a 200000 yuan industrial laser device in the live broadcast room of Alibaba International Station, Zhang Jie, General Manager of LinkedIn Machinery, believes that "cross-border live streaming is similar to attending offline exhibitions abroad in the past. It can communicate face-to-face with buyers, help quickly establish trust between buyers and sellers, and help us save costs (when traveling abroad)."