Southern Metropolis Daily:

We have noticed that Amazon has recently banned a large number of sellers, including many from China, affecting some Chinese companies. What are your comments on this? Thank you.

Li Xingqian:

Thank you for your question. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, traditional trade and economic activities such as exhibitions have been impeded. Enjoying the unique advantages of low cost, high efficiency and great convenience without the limitations of time and space, cross-border e-commerce became popular among consumers worldwide, showing rapid growth. China's cross-border e-commerce has also seen rapid development. In 2020, its volume of imports and exports reached 1.69 trillion yuan, up 31.1% year on year. This year, it has so far maintained a double-digital increase, with volume reaching 886.7 billion yuan in the first six months and a growth rate of 28.6%.

Thanks to rapid development, cross-border e-commerce enterprises have diversified export channels. Some companies operate businesses relying on large-scale e-commerce platforms, some build independent websites to explore markets, and new business models, including livestreaming commerce and big data marketing, emerged. A number of Chinese enterprises and brands have gained recognition in the international market, making the Chinese experience and approaches a new sample for the development of global cross-border e-commerce and providing references for other countries in this field. Meanwhile, due to varying laws, cultures, and business practices across different countries, Chinese enterprises have to face various risks and challenges when going global. I have learned that practices of some sellers were considered to have violated Amazon's code of conduct and other terms. Thus, their businesses were suspended by the platform. We always require Chinese enterprises to abide by the laws and regulations of different countries, respect local customs, and conduct businesses in accordance with the laws and regulations. We will help enterprises to improve their capacity of risk control and align with international economic and trade rules and standards, and firmly support them to protect their legitimate rights and interests through appropriate measures. We will also promote communication and cooperation among upstream and downstream entities so as to jointly bolster the healthy development of the industry.

In general, the problems that emerged in the development of new business forms in foreign trade can be put down to them having not been "acclimatized" or as "growing pains." In the process of learning-by-doing and mutual learning, we hope the platform will cherish the important contributions made by enterprises and fully respect all kinds of trade entities. We believe that the platform and enterprises will find a solution that is both compliant and reasonable. The Ministry of Commerce will continue to follow the progress of this issue. Thank you.