4 Takeaways from China's Ministry of Commerce Report on E-Commerce

On July 1st, China's Ministry of Commerce issued the latest official “China E-commerce Report 2019”, which gives official facts and figures about the state of China's e-commerce industry in 2019.

In general, the report pointed out that in 2019, the country's e-commerce transactions reached 34.81 trillion RMB in value, of which online B2C retail sales amounted to 10.63 trillion RMB.

Here are four key takeaways:

1. E-Commerce Industry Tops 34.81 trillion RMB in Value

According to the report, in 2019 the number of Internet users in China has exceeded 900 million, with an Internet penetration rate of 64.5%; national e-commerce transactions (B2B + B2C) reached 34.81 trillion RMB, of which online retail sales (B2C) were 10.63 trillion RMB, up 16.5% YoY.

2. Rural E-Commerce is Growing

Online retail sales from less-developed regions grew 19.1% YoY to reach 1.7 trillion RMB, comprising 16.1% of online retail sales (B2C) .

3. Cross-border E-commerce Continues to Grow

In 2019, the total amount of retail import and export goods through cross-border e-commerce customs channels grew 38.3% to reach 186.21 billion RMB.  Total imports grew 27.4% YoY to reach 91.81 billion RMB.

Japan, the United States and South Korea were the main sources of China's cross-border e-commerce retail imports, accounting for 20.8%, 16%, and 10.7% respectively. 

4. First-Tier Cities Still Dominate E-Commerce

Guangdong Province, Zhejiang Province and Shanghai city accounted for 23.76%, 16.54%, 11.63% of e-commerce sales, or a combined total of 51.93%.

The Ministry of Commerce also noted that e-commerce continues to help drive recovery in China's consumer sector after the coronavirus crisis. There will be more government programs to promote e-commerce in the future.