中国跨境电商：规模还在增长，经营逻辑正在改变

China’s Cross-Border E-Commerce Is Growing. Its Operating Model Is Changing.

Platforms make it easier to find customers and take orders. They do not remove the work of customs clearance, duties, returns or local delivery. The next phase of China’s cross-border e-commerce will depend less on a single traffic channel and more on how businesses turn an online order into a repeatable operating process.

What the headline figures tell us

China’s customs data put cross-border e-commerce imports and exports at RMB 2.84 trillion in 2025, up 4.8% year on year. First-half 2026 trade reached RMB 1.45 trillion, up 5.8%; exports were RMB 1.16 trillion and imports RMB 291.8 billion. The General Administration of Customs initially reported RMB 2.75 trillion for 2025 in January. A later figure published by China’s Ministry of Commerce and attributed to Customs was RMB 2.84 trillion. This article uses the later figure and keeps the publication timing visible.

These totals show continued expansion, not the profitability of a platform, product category or seller. Customs trade values, platform GMV, retail sales and order counts measure different things. They should not be combined unless their scope and methodology match.

Low-value parcels face a different cost environment

The United States ended the de minimis exemption for goods from China and Hong Kong on 2 May 2025, then extended the suspension to shipments from all countries on 29 August 2025. The applicable treatment still depends on product, origin and shipping details, but sellers can no longer assume that low-value parcels enter duty-free.

In the European Union, a transitional €3 customs duty took effect on 1 July 2026 for eligible consignments valued below €150 and sent directly to consumers. It is charged by category of goods in a parcel. A separate €2 handling fee took effect on 1 November 2026, according to the Council of the EU. The duty and handling fee are distinct measures.

These changes put pressure on low-priced, direct-shipped orders. An overseas warehouse can shorten last-mile delivery and support local returns, but it introduces inventory financing, storage, unsold stock and local fulfilment costs. It changes where costs sit; it does not make them disappear.

Fulfilment models answer different needs

China’s customs codes help describe the route, not rank business models. Code 9610 generally covers cross-border e-commerce retail trade; 9710 covers direct B2B exports; and 9810 covers exports to overseas warehouses. Customs simplified the filing requirement for overseas-warehouse export businesses in 2024. That procedural change does not waive customs declarations, tax obligations, destination-market import rules or product responsibilities.

Direct shipping can fit dispersed orders and products with untested demand, while overseas stock can support faster delivery and local returns. The trade-off is greater exposure to inventory and local operating costs. B2B shipments follow different requirements for contracts, batches, delivery and settlement. No single route fits every order profile.

Digital systems connect information; they do not replace operating discipline

When orders arrive from multiple marketplaces and inventory sits across several warehouses, integration can connect order, shipment, warehouse and finance records. Whether it reduces errors or processing time must be measured in the implementation itself. Accurate source data, clear process ownership and exception handling still matter.

INOSSEM describes ProcessGo Plus as a platform for process modelling, system integration, EDI exchange and warehouse or order coordination. That is the vendor’s product description. This briefing does not independently verify vendor-reported efficiency claims or infer that the results apply across the industry.

The business test is repeatable fulfilment

Cross-border e-commerce is growing, but scale alone does not establish business quality. The more useful questions are how an order is fulfilled, who bears duties and service costs, when inventory turns into cash, and whether the product continues to meet the destination market’s rules.

Traffic remains important. It is only the beginning. The next stage will be shaped by products, compliance, delivery, after-sales service and the quality of information moving between them.