TradePromotion

China's huge market is attracting global investors

2020-10-14 15:00:15

Thousands of intelligent robots are operating at high speed in the "Asia No.1" Smart Logistics Center of JD Logistics in Beijing: picking up stocks, sorting, shipping and delivering...just like the scenes in a science fiction blockbuster. This kind of smart logistics warehouses have expanded all over China's major cities, which process 68 billion instructions in 0.2 seconds with the maximum order volume reaching 1.6 million orders per day.

Behind the high-speed smart warehouses, there are about 200 million express parcels shipped on the road every day, which is also a testament of the strong market demand in China.

Since 2016, the beginning year of "13th Five-Year Plan", the scale of the Chinese market has been expanding to reach a new level. According to statistics, the total retail sales of consumer goods in China reached RMB41.2 trillion in 2019, making it the world's largest market. Experts predict that the total retail sales of consumer goods across the country this year is expected to grow to RMB45 trillion.

Consumption is growing. "In the past 5 years, my salary has increased by nearly 40%, and I feel free to spend more. If you feel like it, just buy it!" said Fang Anqi, who is 28 and works in the finance department in a company in Xianning, Hubei Province. She frequently checks her bills. She told reporters that she often buys online and the depth and breadth of consumption is also expanding. In the first half of this year, Fang Anqi spent nearly RMB12,000 on clothing and beauty, and her expenditure on education and training also increased significantly.

Consumption upgrade has become a new trend. Xiong Huan, a girl from Chongqing, recalled that she only bought stuff that she needed several years back, but now she is buying whatever she likes. “The amount of spending is growing and she values more on taste and personality. Many people around me are like that and all aspects of daily life are rapidly upgrading.”

The leap in the scale of the Chinese market can be better showcased by a set of data:

During the "Double Eleven" in 2019, NetsUnion and UnionPay processed a total of 1.779 billion online payment transactions with an amount of RMB1,482.07 billion, which is equivalent to more than one order per person across the country with an average order of RMB1,000 per person.

During the “618” shopping festival in 2020, the turnover of health supplements exceeded RMB10 million within 5 minutes of the opening of the event on JD.com; 13 livestreaming rooms reached transactions of over RMB100 million on Tmall; IKEA adopted 3D technology and only took 1 hour and 20 minutes to reach a record for the highest single-day transaction since the launch of its store; Apple, Midea, Gree, Haier, Huawei, Xiaomi and other brands have sold more than RMB100 million on Suning...

China's huge and vibrant market attracts the attention of global investors—

Some keep up with technological development trends to create a better experience for consumers. Elieen Zong, brand general manager of L'Oréal Paris in China, said that the current needs of Chinese consumers are highly personalized, diverse, and complex. "Our response is to identify consumers' potential needs and satisfy their needs for diverse experience and quality life." Said Zong. Based on the new needs of the Chinese market, L'Oréal acquired ModiFace, a technology firm specializing in artificial intelligence and augmented reality, and developed a series of online beauty applications. Services such as virtual makeup and skin testing have greatly enriched the shopping experience of Chinese consumers with L’Oreal.

In response to changes in market structure, some continue to make more targeted efforts. Global logistics giant GLP believes that during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, the average annual growth rate of China's online retail sales is about 25%. The development of the consumer market and e-commerce has created huge business opportunities for logistics infrastructure related industries to upgrade to high standards and modernization. Zhao Mingqi, the co-president of GLP China Asset, said that in the first half of this year, GLP's committed investment in China reached US$1.4 billion, an increase of 40% over the same period last year. “We continue to be optimistic about the Chinese market, and our investment in China will continue to increase in the future!”

China has become the largest single market for many multinational companies and products, including BMW of Germany, Toyota of Japan, and Airbus of France. China is also the largest importer of oil and natural gas and the largest consumer of imported food such as cherries from Chile, milk from Germany, nuts from the USA. In virtue of cross-border e-commerce, Air Silk Road, and China-Europe Railway Express, such “global quality goods” have further diversify Chinese choice of food.

China cannot develop without the global market and China is also crucial to the prosperity of the world.

“It is estimated that in the next 15 years, China’s imports of goods and services will exceed US$30 trillion and US$10 trillion respectively.” At the opening ceremony of the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in 2018, China showed the world a huge market prospect and determination to open up.

The 3rd China International Import Expo will kick off soon. The exhibition area will exceed the previous ones. New areas for energy conservation, environmental protection and smart mobility will be established. Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders will continue to participate in it. Endless opportunities are presented by the huge market of China!