Traditional trade fair's online embrace

E-commerce produces big challenges, but also many opportunities for those in the physical market

Cross-border e-commerce platforms are positioning themselves to better identify needs and match Chinese exporters with foreign customers, industry experts says.

John Lin, vice-president of eBay Inc, says his firm empowers Chinese enterprises to sell more effectively and efficiently by providing global marketplaces and payment platforms used by millions of consumers.

"To better promote cross-border trade in China, eBay China has established a team that provides cross-border trade certification, business consulting, online and offline training, logistics solutions and other services," he says.

Even organizers of the Canton Fair, a bellwether of China's trade climate, are feeling the pinch from online rivals.

They have launched a similar platform, e-cantonfair.com, to promote trade on the Internet.

Su Jiatao, director of the international department of Canton Fair E-Commerce Co, said the platform has proven to be effective in matching domestic exporters with overseas buyers.

"Booming e-commerce has brought about not only huge challenges to traditional trade models but also opportunities to the trade fair," Su says.

More than 23,000 global buyers became new members of the e-commerce platform during the 115th Canton Fair, which ended last month, Su says.

The Canton Fair e-commerce platform, which was launched during the expo's spring session last year, accumulated about 70,000 bona fide business orders during the 115th Canton Fair, up 70 percent from the previous session, Su says.

"As an important complement to the traditional fair, the e-commerce platform has greatly increased trade efficiency and boosted global buyers' interest in Chinese goods."

The e-commerce company also took overseas buyers on visits to the production bases of Chinese suppliers, which helped boosted order, he says.

The company organized a team of 300 consultants and more than 100 self-service terminals and 300 mobile tablets at the fair to give global buyers better access to information about Chinese exporters.

"Consultants helped me by simplifying the complicated sourcing process," says a Pakistan buyer surnamed Alihazrat.

"The online service is a good boost to trade efficiency," he says.

Liu Jianjun, spokesman for the Canton Fair, says the e-commerce platform will soon open cross-border payment services.

The role of the Canton Fair has undoubtedly dwindled, with the number of buyers dropping significantly from previous years, says Qiu Lingpei, international business department of Xipoint Technology Co Ltd.

"We no longer see the Canton Fair as the only, or the primary, channel for business expansion. But it serves as an important and irreplaceable venue for managing existing customer relations."

The success of previous sessions was a double-edged sword to exporters, since buyers who already pinpointed business partners via the fair would not choose to come on a frequent basis, thus eroding chances for winning new contracts, says Zhou Qi, director of sales of panel TV maker Skyworth.

"I expect that five years from now, the platform will remain largely effective, especially to industries that undergo frequent reshuffling. Once you come to the fair, you get to see a consortium of leading players, and it's easier for you to compare them," he says.

For smaller companies, face-to-face negotiation reduces uncertainties about deals made using virtual channels, says Xu Lingfei, general-manager of Zhejiang Zhuguang Group Christmas Lighting Co Ltd.

Xu's company, with annual sales of $20 million, has adopted online channels to find business opportunities. But she worries about encountering fake dealers online.

"If they bother to fly all the way to the event, there's more likelihood that the demands are urgent and real," she says.

It is true that new communications media have brought countries closer worldwide. Yet, ironically, more efficient communications and transport have also underscored the strategic importance of geographic clusters of production, says Dan Steinbock, research director of International Business at the India, China and America Institute.

Contact the writers at qiuquanlin@chinadaily.com.cn and hewei@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/13/2014 page22)