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Online wholesale marketplace Alibaba.com said cross-border demand for Made in China goods over its platform leaped by 33% in the first half of the year versus a year earlier.

Cross-border trade with Europe and the United States staged a partial recovery between January and June over Alibaba.com, bolstering continued rapid growth in orders from Southeast Asia.

E-commerce is penetrating deeper into the world’s largest economy. China’s online exports totaled RMB821 billion ($114.4 billion) for the first six months of the year, up 19.9% year-on-year, according to preliminary data from China’s customs agency, that’s faster than total exports growth, which edged 3.7% higher year-on-year amid sluggish global economic growth.  

Overseas companies’ purchasing habits are rapidly shifting online, said Qin Fen, head of industry and supplier operations at Alibaba.com, China’s largest online wholesale marketplace in 2021 by revenue, per data provider Analysys.

“Digital foreign trade has become a must for global trade and an irreversible trend,” said Qin.

Golf Cart Orders

Between January and June, 90% of industries saw the value of their online exports from China swell rapidly year-over-year, and 91% of overseas markets’ online traffic volume expanded year-over-year, said Alibaba.com in its semi-annual report on digital trends.

Star retail categories were new energy vehicles, registering a fivefold year-on-year hike, and golf cart orders, which accelerated 257% year-on-year in the B2B marketplace.

Alibaba.com forecast demand for electric vehicles will remain robust for the rest of the year. Other pockets of strength will be customized printers, laser-cutting machines and earth excavators, it said. Procurement usually peaks in September on Alibaba.com, when buyers stock up for the end-of-year holiday season, and the marketplace hosts its Super September buyers’ festival.

Alibaba.com connects Chinese and overseas suppliers to overseas wholesale buyers, typically trade agents, wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers and SMEs engaged in the import and export business. There were over 40 million buyers in more than 190 countries on Alibaba.com in the twelve months ended March 31, 2022. Alibaba.com is part of the Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, one of Hangzhou-based e-commerce giant Alibaba Group’s divisions.

Want to know more? Read Alibaba’s European export forecasts

Can’t stop browsing? Check out Alibaba.com’s report on SME’s migration online during the pandemic