Cross-border e-commerce enterprises seize RCEP policy opportunities

Since the beginning of this year, all parts of China have actively explored and promoted the high-quality implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the market potential of RCEP has been continuously stimulated, its policy dividends have been continuously released, and China's cross-border e-commerce has developed rapidly
.
According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, China's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports have increased nearly 10 times in five years, reaching 1.
92 trillion yuan in 2021, an increase of 18.
6%.

At present, as a new foreign trade format with the fastest development, the greatest potential and the strongest driving role in China, cross-border e-commerce has become a new driving force for foreign trade development, a new channel for transformation and upgrading, and a new starting point
for high-quality development.

The total amount of scale is increasing day by day

Under the RCEP framework, since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Commerce and local governments have successively issued many follow-up policies and supporting measures related to cross-border e-commerce, which have activated a broader space
for development.
In May this year, the Ministry of Commerce and 14 other departments issued the Notice on Carrying out the Pilot Project of Domestic and Foreign Trade Integration, proposing to further improve the level of trade facilitation and support enterprises to use new formats and models such as cross-border e-commerce and market procurement trade to explore the international market
.

According to the "Research Report on Cross-border E-commerce Development Opportunities between RCEP and ASEAN Countries" jointly released by the International Trade Center (ITC), Zhejiang University International Business School and Ali Research Institute, RCEP regional cross-border e-commerce is still growing rapidly against the trend, RCEP and ASEAN countries cross-border small and medium-sized enterprises are leveraging cross-border e-commerce platforms to vigorously expand the global market, and digitalization is expected to accelerate the release
of dividends.

RCEP includes 15 member countries with a total population of 2.
27 billion, which is currently the most active and highest growth rate market area
in the world.
In 2020, the total scale of cross-border e-commerce in the region reached US$285 billion, compared with the total in 2016 (US$86.
2 billion), with an average annual growth rate of 34.
8%.

The total index of cross-border B2B in RCEP countries shows that from 2019 to 2021, cross-border B2B in RCEP countries showed a steady upward development trend, and doubled in 3 years, with an average annual growth rate of 34.
4%.

From the perspective of sub-indicators, the product diversification index of RCEP cross-border e-commerce enterprises grew the fastest, achieving 3.
2 times growth in 3 years; the trade scale index increased by 2.
9 times in 3 years; and the market diversification index also increased 1.
8 times in 3 years
.
This shows that while the total scale of cross-border e-commerce in RCEP is increasing, the product richness and market diversification process of cross-border e-commerce enterprises are also continuously improving and accelerating
.

In November, the warehouse of Qingdao Daojin Food Co.
, Ltd.
was busy, and bags of cat food were quickly filled and sealed in the automatic packaging line
.
Trucks loaded with goods at the warehouse gate are ready to go, and 15 tons of pet food are about to be shipped to Japan
.
"Benefiting from the RCEP dividend, the company's orders for exports to Japan, South Korea and ASEAN have been very full
this year.
" Introduction
of the person in charge of the company.

Bi Haijun, director of Qingdao Customs and Tariff Department, said that Shandong's largest trading partner is ASEAN among RCEP members, and it is adjacent to the Japanese and South Korean markets of RCEP members, and has benefited more from the opening opportunities brought by RCEP taking effect
.
It is reported that 10 months before RCEP came into effect, Qingdao Customs, Jinan Customs and Shandong Provincial Council for the Promotion of International Trade issued RCEP certificates of origin for 122,000 batches of export goods, ranking first
in the country.
During the period, Shandong Province's imports and exports to other RCEP member countries increased by 23.
4% year-on-year, and its proportion in the total import and export value increased by 2.
9 percentage points
.

Xu Yingming, director of the International Market Institute of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said that major foreign trade provinces make full use of RCEP and other free trade agreements to strengthen multilateral and bilateral cooperation, consolidate traditional markets, open up emerging markets, and "expand increments, prevent reductions, and strengthen guarantees", which will support the stability and quality
of China's foreign trade.

Diversification of products and markets

Product diversification and market diversification have become important characteristics of the development of cross-border e-commerce in the RCEP region during this period, that is, the development quality of the cross-border e-commerce market in the region is constantly rising
.
The average number of products, the average number of new products, the number of export countries, and the proportion of orders in non-European and American markets in RCEP regions are the concrete embodiment
of this characteristic assessment.

RCEP cross-border e-commerce enterprise product diversification index grew the fastest, achieving 3.
2 times growth in 3 years; trade scale index increased 2.
9 times in 3 years; and market diversification index also increased 1.
8 times
in 3 years.
These results show that while the total scale of cross-border e-commerce in RCEP is increasing, the product richness and market diversification process of cross-border e-commerce enterprises are also continuously improving and accelerating
.

RCEP countries have a higher concentration of general trade exports and are more conducive to exports
in sectors such as energy, materials and industrial manufacturing.
The main export categories of cross-border e-commerce are more inclined to consumer discretionary, staple consumer goods and healthcare
.

It is worth noting that a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises in ASEAN countries are actively participating in the cross-border e-commerce market through digital platforms and enjoying the development opportunities
of the global market.
A number of cases have confirmed that cross-border SMEs can achieve their own innovative development through digital transformation and other means, and their business models and transformation paths are inclusive and replicable
.

Digitalization is an effective means of dealing with uncertainty

The digital platform helps cross-border SMEs achieve a specific path of digital transformation, thereby driving the contrarian growth and diversified high-level development
of the cross-border e-commerce market.
Ben Shenglin, Dean of Zhejiang University's International Business School, said that digitalization is the most effective means to cope with market uncertainty, and digital platforms can also effectively boost market economic growth
.

Digital marketing reduces the marginal cost
of promoting new products.
Small and medium-sized enterprises can accurately target customer groups and launch new products
through online platforms.
Some digital platforms have created consumer communities to create a more active marketing environment
.

Based on the data precipitation and data analysis of online sales, SMEs can better understand consumers' behavior and consumption trends, and then formulate and adjust their business strategies
.
Some e-commerce platforms design convenient analysis tools for merchants, automatically calculate operational information such as advertising return on investment, customer conversion rate, etc.
, and give decision-making suggestions
.

With the massive knowledge resources of digital platforms, SMEs can learn from the operational experience
of their peers.
The value of knowledge sharing has been further amplified, and some SMEs have even used platforms to develop partners and improve online consultation and development planning
.
This is especially necessary
to expand the business cooperation chain and improve the capacity building of enterprises themselves.

It is in this context that the governments of the 10 ASEAN countries have implemented various support policies to promote the digital economy and digital trade, and it is in this context that the average expected compound growth rate of each of the 10 ASEAN countries will reach more than
15% in the next three years.
However, there are also many challenges, such as uneven economic development, imperfect digital infrastructure, and imperfect related institutions
.

Cui Fan, a professor at the School of International Economics and Trade of the University of International Business and Economics, said that RCEP is a milestone in China's implementation of the free trade area upgrade strategy, and as China's degree of openness continues to increase, a more open domestic market and a more open international market will eventually be more conducive to innovative enterprises
.
From the perspective of enterprises, it is necessary to use both the resources of the two markets at home and abroad to form a mutually reinforcing situation, and take the improvement of innovation ability as the first priority, so as to better share the opportunities
brought by RCEP.

Product innovation and cost reduction and efficiency improvement are the future trends

From the perspective of future development opportunities, RCEP cross-border e-commerce development should pay attention to the following aspects of market trends:

Build brand value
through online platforms.
The expansion of new customers and the repurchase of old customers are conducive to the continuous expansion of the cross-border e-commerce market and form a virtuous circle
.
In addition, cross-border e-commerce enterprises in the region should further explore their own characteristics, combine local characteristics with international demand in popular cross-border e-commerce fields such as agricultural products and sports and entertainment goods, and develop characteristic products and services
.

Provide comprehensive services to attract more online consumers
.
From the perspective of the whole transaction chain, the optimization of payment, logistics, after-sales service and other aspects will significantly improve the online consumption experience
of consumers.
Businesses can leverage digital platforms to provide consumers with more comprehensive and efficient online services
.

Continuous innovation
through online knowledge sharing.
Online platforms are not only a place for trading, but also a service platform
for mutual learning and knowledge sharing.
SMEs should seize this tool to broaden their vision of global business models, and fill the gap between themselves and global best practices through platform market research, peer learning and data analysis, reduce the cost of trial and error, and promote continuous innovation
.

Reduce costs and improve efficiency
through digital means.
Helping small and medium-sized enterprises save production, operation and innovation costs is the continuous vitality of the growing cross-border e-commerce market
.
With the help of cross-border e-commerce, SMEs can more easily break through the limitations of domestic supply, consumption capacity and logistics level, thereby significantly reducing R&D costs, logistics costs, and even procurement costs such as raw materials, and significantly reducing operation and market development costs
.

(Gao Na comprehensive collation)

China Food News (November 25, 2022, version 07).

(Responsible editor: Gao Na)