Rewards of e-commerce flow across border bridge

A view of the e-commerce center on Nov 7, which was established in 2022 to facilitate e-commerce companies in Dongxing. ZHANG YU/CHINA NEWS SERVICE

Profitable partners

A great number of parcels sent to Dongxing from across China are destined for Vietnamese recipients, Liang said. To take advantage of this business opportunity, many Vietnamese e-commerce businesses with Chinese partners have set up offices in Dongxing to receive the China-made products, he explained.

Vietnamese customers order the products from local e-commerce platforms such as TikTok and Shopee. The products are then sent to the e-commerce stores in Dongxing via the parcel delivery network, and are subsequently transported to Vietnam through the cross-border logistics system, Liang said.

"Most parcels arriving at Dongxing from other parts of China are mainly destined for Vietnamese customers," he said.

"Apart from the products acquired by local residents in Dongxing to meet their daily needs, a variety of light-industry products, such as clothing, shoes, leather bags, and small household appliances, are sent to Vietnam.

"These goods can be further transported across the border through logistics companies, courier services, or taken back by border residents," he said, adding that many parcel delivery companies in Dongxing are not qualified to do cross-border delivery.

Likewise, Vietnamese products are sent to Dongxing and distributed to customers around China. "About 80 percent of parcels leaving Dongxing for other parts of China are Southeast Asian specialties, while the remaining 20 percent are agricultural products from Dongxing," Liang said.

The parcel delivery industry in Dongxing has increased twelve-fold over the past decade, said Xu Weizhong, deputy head of the Fangchenggang Post Bureau, which oversees the industry in the city.

"Dongxing is a city that focuses on foreign trade, taking advantage of its geographical location. It mainly deals with imports and exports with Southeast Asia. Dongxing is like a gateway to facilitate trade (between China and Vietnam)," Xu said, adding that the parcel delivery network is a bridge to link foreign trade with the e-commerce system.

The parcel delivery sector has seen rapid growth over the past decade, according to the Post Bureau which regulates the industry. In 2012, the city handled 385,900 parcels, of which 77,100 were from e-commerce business. In 2019, the number was 7.85 million parcels, with 6.45 million from e-commerce.

From 2020 the number dropped due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In 2022, the city handled 5.35 million parcels and 4.73 million were e-commerce packages.

From January to September last year, Dongxing handled 5.84 million parcels, with 5.13 million of them e-commerce parcels.