Zhang Haifang

Since the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, it has gradually developed into a key force in promoting global economic and trade cooperation and development. A profound summary of the transformation of China's cross-border e-commerce export model under the background of the "Belt and Road Initiative" will have a positive effect on Chinese enterprises to continue to cultivate new momentum for foreign trade and inject sustained momentum into the high-quality construction of the "Belt and Road Initiative".

Policy support: building a convenient and open development environment

Policy communication and institutional innovation are the primary driving forces for the transformation of cross-border e-commerce export models under the background of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. The Chinese government has created a more convenient and open development environment for cross-border e-commerce exports by adopting a series of high-level opening-up measures.

Deepen intergovernmental cooperation. The Chinese government actively promotes the establishment of bilateral e-commerce cooperation mechanisms with partner countries of the Belt and Road Initiative, in order to create a good international environment for the transformation of cross-border e-commerce export models under the background of the Belt and Road Initiative. By signing bilateral e-commerce cooperation memorandums with multiple countries, we promote in-depth exchanges between the two parties in policy coordination, planning docking, and experience sharing.

Optimize the domestic business environment. In order to thoroughly implement the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and promote the high-quality development of cross-border e-commerce, the General Administration of Customs, together with the Ministry of Commerce and other nine departments, issued the "Announcement on Further Promoting the Development of Cross-border E-commerce Exports", proposing to simplify the export document declaration procedures, continuously optimize the supervision model for cross-border e-commerce exports, and provide relevant enterprises with a more convenient domestic development environment as much as possible.

Logistics innovation: Create an intelligent and collaborative cross-border logistics network

Accelerate the development of multimodal transport and solve the pain points of cross-border logistics. Government departments need to use the core transportation hubs of the "Belt and Road" as key nodes to promote the physical connection and functional integration of multiple cross-border transportation modes; by arranging transfer stations around key airports, provide combined transportation options for time-sensitive cross-border e-commerce products such as 3C products and high-end consumer goods, and balance the relationship between transportation costs and timeliness requirements as much as possible.

Align the granularity with co-building countries in various standards and rules for cross-border logistics and transportation. To this end, relevant departments need to proactively promote consensus on container specifications, cargo loading standards, safety inspection procedures, etc. with the countries co-building the "Belt and Road"; they need to promote the "one-document system" reform domestically, which is to effectively integrate multiple documents such as sea bills of lading, railway waybills, and air waybills involved in cross-border e-commerce export commodities, so as to achieve a simplified and reformed transportation process of "one entrustment, one order to the end, and full responsibility".

Accelerate the intelligent and localized layout of overseas warehouse networks. As a comprehensive service hub, overseas warehouses are a key carrier to solve the "last mile" distribution problem of cross-border e-commerce and enhance the experience of overseas users. Cross-border e-commerce companies can reduce transaction costs and shorten delivery times by arranging overseas warehouses in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, allowing overseas consumers to receive products more conveniently. Relevant leading e-commerce companies can also actively promote the intelligent upgrading of overseas warehouses, use big data technology to accurately predict overseas market demand, continuously optimize the warehousing layout of overseas warehouses, and achieve localized and efficient distribution.

Business model change: from single export to diversified and localized operations

B2B2C (business-business-consumer) model. Under this model, domestic e-commerce companies can register and establish local companies in target market countries in advance or establish in-depth cooperative relationships with local distributors. After that, the cross-border goods that need to be exported are transported in batches in the form of general trade to the company's local overseas warehouse for storage and stocking. When overseas consumers place orders through the e-commerce platform, the goods can be sent directly from the nearest warehouse, and distribution can be arranged as soon as possible with the help of local logistics. This model can not only significantly shorten the delivery time of goods and reduce terminal logistics costs, but also provide overseas consumers with after-sales service content and methods that are in line with local habits.

A new model of fully managed and comprehensive services. Under this model, professional service platforms and institutions can, after receiving the entrustment, be responsible for the entire operation of cross-border e-commerce exports on behalf of e-commerce enterprises, while the enterprises themselves only need to focus on the research and development and production of products, and transport the finished products to designated domestic warehouses. Take the all-mode public service platform innovatively created by Shenzhen as an example. With "customs, exchange, and tax" as its core, the platform provides one-stop public service solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises that temporarily lack experience in cross-border e-commerce exports, helping them to integrate into the international market faster and master cross-border e-commerce export models and rules.

From policies to build an open environment, to logistics to create intelligent collaborative networks, to business models to diversify and localize, the transformation of China’s cross-border e-commerce export model under the background of the “Belt and Road Initiative” has gradually completed the upgrade and optimization of the entire chain. In the future, with the further integration of technologies and models and the continuous deepening of innovative solutions in various dimensions, cross-border e-commerce will further connect the construction of "five links" and help the countries involved in the "Belt and Road" to build closer international economic and trade partnerships.

(Author’s unit: School of Marxism, Nanjing Normal University; this article is a research result of the Jiangsu Provincial Social Science Fund Key Project〈〉)