Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (AMEA)

Small and Medium Exporters in China Benefit as FedEx Upgrades South China Cross-Border E-commerce Export Services

HONG KONG SAR, China, Sept. 9, 2020 — FedEx Express (FedEx), a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and one of the world’s largest express transportation companies, has upgraded its cross-border e-commerce export services in Southern China. By adopting policies developed by the cross-border e-commerce B2B export supervision pilot program implemented by China Customs, the FedEx Guangzhou and Xiamen Gateways now offer more efficient and convenient customs clearance services for China exporters with B2B cross-border e-commerce shipments.

The new policies apply to B2B cross-border e-commerce direct and overseas exports. FedEx customers in China, after registering and system-docking at their local customs offices, can enjoy several conveniences on their exports, such as simplified declaration process, priority inspection and seamless returns account management. Customers no longer need to pack goods individually and stick air waybills on separate packages. Instead, they can export in batches – a big improvement on efficiencies and cost savings. Customers can also take advantage of a variety of FedEx logistics tools to reduce shipment transit times with customs transit, direct gateway exports and integrated national customs clearance.

FedEx has been actively cooperating with Xiamen Customs on the pilot project launched by China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC). The pilot focuses on B2B export supervision in cross-border e-commerce and has been announced in 10 customs offices, including Xiamen and Guangzhou. FedEx is the first international logistics provider to offer this service from the Xiamen Customs district. Two Fujian customers – including Xiamen Worthfind E-commerce - have already benefited from the upgrade in exporting their first batch of cross-border e-commerce goods successfully. FedEx plans to further extend this service to more cities in South China.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated changes in consumer behavior and spurred online transactions, especially purchase and sales, thus fueling e-commerce in a big way. The post-pandemic era is providing fresh opportunities for many small and medium businesses to further expand into overseas markets.” said Kawal Preet, president of the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region at FedEx Express. “At FedEx, we are well placed to support such businesses not only as they recover, but also in their growth plans, especially if they are seeking access to markets within Asia and to take advantage of trading opportunities between Asia and the rest of the world.”

“We’ve been cooperating with FedEx since 2015,” said Zhou Xiaoming, deputy general manager, Supply Chain, Xiamen Worthfind E-Commerce Company. “The efficiency of logistics has always been stable and high, which often renders compliments from our clients. The new cross-border e-commerce B2B supervision pilot project is another big step toward facilitating the development of the cross-border e-commerce industry. It provides great convenience to cross-border e-commerce companies like us. Thanks to the special services by FedEx Express, we have the opportunity to be one of the very first pioneer corporations to accomplish the transition from foreign trade to cross-border e-commerce. I look forward to future opportunities and growth of our company.”

E-commerce is one of the main driving forces of China’s economic growth. The COVID-19 outbreak this year has resulted in a large portion of daily consumption and services moving online, generating a shift that has accelerated the growth in e-commerce demand. In the first half of this year, online retail sales in mainland China reached 5.15 trillion RMB, with a year-on-year increase of 7.3%[1]. Between January and May 2020, China’s cross-border e-commerce retail imports and exports totaled 71.7 billion RMB, with a year-on-year increase of 22.4%, of which imports increased by 23% year-on-year, exports increased by 21.6% year-on-year[2]. A similar trend of rising e-commerce is seen across Asia Pacific. Over the first six months of 2020, 30% of consumers in Southeast Asia increased their online purchases[3]. Among consumers who have been buying more since April 2020, 80% plan to continue online purchases of essentials even in the future[4]. Some e-commerce shopping platforms in the region have seen the inflow of new online sellers more than double during COVID-19[5].

[2] http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/xwfbh/20200730.shtml

[3] SYNC Southeast Asia research, Facebook and Bain & Co. https://www.bain.com/insights/how-covid-19-is-changing-southeast-asias-consumers/

[4] https://www.facebook.com/business/news/digital-consumer-trends-next-normal-southeast-asia

[5] https://www.facebook.com/business/news/digital-consumer-trends-next-normal-southeast-asia