According to China Customs statistics, in 2025, my country’s cross-border e-commerce import and export volume was 2.84 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.8% over the previous year, accounting for 6.2% of my country’s total import and export value of goods trade during the same period.
In the past five years, the scale of China’s cross-border e-commerce trade has increased more than 10 times.
This data is also reflected in the heated atmosphere at the 2026 China (Guangzhou) Cross-border E-commerce Fair (hereinafter referred to as the “Cross-Border Fair”).
The booths of Lazada, Meikeduo, Coupang and other platforms attracted a large number of inquiries from sellers. These platforms mainly target emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, Latin America and South Korea.
There was a huge flow of people in front of the booth. The audience inquired about the platform entry requirements, scanned the code to enter the communication group, and then went to the supply chain factory exhibition area to select products.
Different from the traditional foreign trade model of “products looking for customers”, cross-border e-commerce is more characterized by “customers looking for products”.
With clear market demands and target group profiles, sellers look for accurately matched supply sources, while factories must respond quickly to the ever-changing consumer trends.
In the product selection and supply sources of major cross-border e-commerce platforms, Guangdong factories are a very important presence.
In 2025, goods exported from Guangdong will account for more than 50% (51.1%) of my country’s cross-border e-commerce exports for the first time.
In the supply chain exhibition area, the products of Guangdong factories cover many cross-border hot-selling categories such as household daily necessities, 3C digital, clothing accessories, and outdoor products.
Many Guangdong manufacturers can produce samples “24 hours a day”, quickly respond to small batch customization needs, shorten the product selection and new product cycle, and help sellers seize market trends faster.
At the same time, factories are also “anti-customer-oriented” and come to the stage to face consumers around the world.
The booth of the Industrial Belt Cross-border E-commerce Enterprise Alliance (Zhongshan) brings together various products such as smart locks, handbags, pet products, small household appliances, luggage, etc. Many cross-border sellers are repeatedly comparing the materials and packaging sizes of smart locks and pet products.
They already have a clear sales scenario in their minds, but they urgently need a stable and reliable factory to implement their ideas.
This is the transition from finding products to finding factories.
In the past, sellers aimlessly scanned goods at exhibitions, but now they have clear needs and only want to accurately match supply chain partners who can cooperate with them in the long term.
However, although there are a large number of factories in China engaged in overseas business, sellers mostly choose products based on product logic rather than factory logic. It is difficult to judge the stability, core products and delivery capabilities of the factory. There is always a lack of an efficient link channel between the two.
It is in this gap that Zhongshan Yuanpin Chain Management Co., Ltd. has found its position.
General Manager Chen Junqing has experience as an investor. Based on his in-depth understanding of the industry, he has established a factory evaluation system and has conducted on-site inspections of more than 1,000 factories.
“Factories must deliver on time, have stable quality control, and have the ability to iterate in production and research and development. Products have a life cycle. Only by constantly launching new products can they attract traffic and lock in customers.” After inspecting a suitable factory, Yuanpin Chain Company will include it in the supply chain list.
“We have 100 models of this air fryer, but it is impossible for a single factory to have 100 models.” Chen Junqing said that when faced with product selection needs from sellers or experts, they can quickly match the list of supply chain companies and create a suitable product mix based on the target market, platform and sales scenario.
Chen Junqing told reporters that among their supply chain companies, Guangdong factories account for more than 60%.
What kind of factories can be included in such a supply chain system?
Several other booths in the exhibition hall gave the answer.
As the temperature rises, orders for small fans from Dongguan Yuchanming Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. increase month by month.
Since March, the company has received a large number of stocking orders from customers.
This company connects with a large number of foreign trade companies through 1688 and serves many leading customers with its rapid iteration and stable delivery. It is certified as a “super factory” of this platform.
Li Wei, the company’s sales manager, said that the company has independent private models, and the product appearance and style are unique and will not conflict with each other.
Ready goods can be shipped within 48 hours, light customization (such as designing a LOGO) can be sampled within 24 hours, and customized packaging can be sampled in 3 days.
Guangshen Electric has been focusing on the ice-making track since its establishment in 2005, and it also ushered in the peak sales season.
At the booth, the audience tasted the ice cream made by the machine and asked about the price.
Among them, a vehicle-mounted ice machine that can be used directly outdoors without plugging in has become a hot product at this year’s exhibition.
The demand for ice-eating in North American family scenes is huge, and Guangshen Electric has a variety of equipment such as ice cream machines, snow melting machines, and ice making machines. It relies on more than 20 years of technological accumulation and a rich product matrix to match the needs of different overseas scenes.
“We are facing the global market, and the demand for ice making is widespread, especially in countries with large ice consumption, such as the United States, and in high-temperature areas such as South America and Southeast Asia.” Rong Xiaomei, sales manager of Guangshen Electrical Appliances, said that the product is now in the semi-automatic stage.
In the future, we plan to introduce AI and robotics technology to make products more intelligent and achieve unmanned operations.
When finding a factory has become an urgent need for sellers, a group of factory-type sellers with a keen sense of smell have realized that instead of passively waiting to be found, they should take the initiative to come to the front and let themselves be seen.
In addition to supply chain and cost advantages, factory-based sellers integrating industry and trade are actively making up for shortcomings in operations and traffic, and actively embrace changes in consumer trends.
The latest product of Huizhou Jiayao Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. is an AI makeup mirror.
It is not just a mirror, but integrates with current major health hotspots to detect skin, heart rate and physical status in real time, form a health report and provide preliminary suggestions, and supports multi-language versions.
Li Shaoyan, general manager of the company, is quite confident about this product: “It is difficult to find another product like mine in the entire exhibition hall.” She said that the current market is concentrated in Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea, and is expanding to countries along the “Belt and Road”.
What is more special than the product is the company’s spokesperson.
The model on the product packaging and online promotional pages is none other than Li Shaoyan herself.
In addition to products, the company also develops peripheral gifts to provide to customers.
From magazines containing articles written by Li Shaoyan to customized T-shirts printed with the company’s logo, she is creating personal IP to let customers remember the company and products.
“If customers trust me and recognize our company, they will be willing to pay for the products. We cannot compete with big companies in technology, we must find our own positioning and characteristics.” Li Shaoyan said.
Gong Ping, Party branch secretary and secretary-general of the Huizhou Cross-border E-commerce Industry Association, said that the biggest feature of cross-border e-commerce is that it is a market leader and directly contacts consumers. Consumers tell companies “what kind of products do I need” and guide the company’s product transformation and iteration.
She noticed that with the development of artificial intelligence, more and more companies are focusing on “going global with new products” and empowering AI into the industrial chain.
This trend is not limited to Huizhou.
Jiangmen Zhengji Guangzhao Technology Co., Ltd. has developed the country’s first AI transparent soft screen, which uses AI intelligent voice to control the text display on the screen in real time. It is equipped with an exclusive APP, making the originally static display device fully interactive.
The company relies on its technical development team to customize product size, lamp bead quantity and effect according to customer needs, and even customize APPs.
Due to the relatively high difficulty and cost of product development, Zhengjiguangzhao Technology mainly focuses on the top sellers in the industry and helps them upgrade their products with differentiated lighting and screen effects.
Guo Rongxiang, general manager of the finished soft screen department, behaves more like an industry blogger. On his video account, he updates his personal explanation and sharing of the product. Many viewers leave private messages online to learn about the price and product details.
“There are so many sellers on the cross-border e-commerce platform. Each seller has hundreds of products, and we are just one of them. Only we can find the real pain points and selling points in the market.” Guo Rongxiang knows that the factory can no longer just focus on production. The company will continue to optimize the positioning of products based on feedback such as market selling points, customer information, and sales data.
Even though they are dealing with B-side customers, they will also collect end-user experiences through overseas forums.
Although the foreign trade situation this year is complex and changeable, the long-term development prospects of cross-border e-commerce are still promising. In particular, emerging markets represented by Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South America are in a stage of rapid development, providing Chinese suppliers with broad business opportunities.
Those who can seize this opportunity are those factories that dare to move from behind the scenes to the front.
