Russian consumers flock to China’s e-commerce platforms

Chinese online shoppers, who spent an estimated 4 trillion yuan in 2015, are not the only demographic smitten by China's e-commerce sector.

2015年中国网络购物市场交易规模达到4万亿人民币，但是，数量庞大的中国网购用户并非中国电子商务网站唯一的追捧者。

Logistics companies in the world's second-biggest economy say there are more bargain hunters from Russia flocking to China's online shopping sites to take advantage of the vast selection of low-cost Chinese goods.

中国的物流公司称，越来越多务实的俄罗斯消费者在中国在线购物网站上选购品种丰富、物美价廉的中国商品。

Express to Russian, a privately owned courier in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province that caters to Russian online shoppers, said its average monthly revenue has surged more than tenfold since it launched in October 2014.

俄境通是中国黑龙江省的一家私营快递公司，为俄罗斯网购用户提供快递服务。该公司称，自从2014年10月成立以来，其月均利润已经增长了10倍以上。

Cui Yong, Express to Russian's general manager, said more Russian consumers are shopping online for their daily needs.

崔勇是俄境通公司的总经理，他说，越来越多的俄罗斯消费者从网上购买生活用品。

"China's textile products, consumer electronics and handcrafted products are immensely popular among Russian consumers. Growth in cross-border e-commerce has helped more made-in-China products reach potential buyers in Russia," Cui said.

崔勇说："中国的纺织产品、消费性电子产品和手工艺品广受俄罗斯消费者的欢迎。跨境电子商务的发展，让潜在的俄罗斯买家有机会接触到更多的中国产品。"

Cross-border shopping is the fastest-growing sector in Russia's e-commerce market. In 2014, its online shoppers placed 47 million orders at international online stores and received 75 million parcels from abroad, almost three times the number of packages received in 2013, according to Data Insight, a Moscow-based research and consultancy firm. Over the course of 2014, the number of Russian orders for Chinese goods rose from 45 percent to 72 percent of all goods bought online from overseas.

跨境贸易是俄罗斯电子商务市场上增长最快的部门。莫斯科研究和咨询公司Data Insight的数据显示，2014年，俄罗斯网购用户在全球网上商店的订单量达到4700万单，国外发往俄罗斯的快件数量达到7500万件，几乎是2013年的3倍。2014年，在俄罗斯的海外网购市场上，中国商品订单比例从45%上升至72%。

According to Russian Post, the national postal operator, Russians made about 80 million online purchases from platforms outside Russia in 2014, about 80 percent of which came from China.

俄罗斯邮政称，2014年，俄罗斯消费者境外网购平台交易量为8000万单，其中80%在中国网购平台进行。

Cui, 47, said the company's average monthly revenue grew from about 100,000 yuan in 2014 to about 1 million yuan since the second half of 2015 because of the rising popularity of cross-border shopping in Russia.

现年47岁的崔勇说，由于俄罗斯跨境贸易的繁荣，2015年下半年，公司月均收入已经从2014年的10万元增长至100万元。

Launched in 2010, e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's AliExpress allows shoppers around the world to buy goods at whole sale prices. According to Alibaba, "hundreds of thousands" of packages are sent from China to Russia on a daily basis.

电子商务巨头阿里巴巴集团旗下的全球速卖通于2010年上线。通过全球速卖通，世界各地的消费者可以以批发价购买商品。阿里巴巴集团称，每天有"数十万"包裹从中国发往俄罗斯。

JD.com Inc launched a Russian-language site in June 2015 to tap Russia's cross-border e-commerce market.

2015年6月，为了开拓俄罗斯跨境电子商务市场，京东的俄文网站上线。

But Cui said the task of delivering Chinese goods to Russia, a vast but sparsely populated country, has been a challenge. Cui said the company partners with post offices and couriers in Russia rather than investing in its own delivery team and warehouses.

但是，崔勇说，俄罗斯幅员辽阔，人口分散，这对运送中国货物到俄罗斯来说，是个巨大的挑战。崔勇说，俄境通选择与俄罗斯当地邮局和快递公司合作，而不是投资于自己的送货团队和仓库。

"Having a facility in the Suifenhe Comprehensive Bonded Area in Heilongjiang, which shares a border of more than 3,000 kilometers with Russia, is ideal to carry out cross-border shipping. Goods that Russian shoppers purchase online in China are first sent to warehouses in Suifenhe and then delivered to cities across Russia," Cui said.

崔勇说："黑龙江绥芬河综合保税区紧邻俄罗斯，边境线长达3000多千米，俄境通入驻保税区，占据了开展边境贸易的地利。俄罗斯消费者从网上购买的中国商品，首先送到绥芬河仓库，然后运送到俄罗斯各城市。"

Cui added that out of his company's 40 employees, eight are based in Russia. The company has partnered with 200 post offices and couriers in 80 cities across Russia.

崔勇还说，公司的40名员工中，有8名在俄罗斯工作。公司一共与俄罗斯境内的200个邮局和快递公司建立了合作关系，业务遍及80个城市。

"With the rapid growth of cross-border online shopping in China, I plan to cooperate with more Russian couriers in 2016, offering a better user experience," he said.

崔勇说："随着中国跨境电子商务的快速发展，2016年我计划和更多的俄罗斯快递公司合作，提升俄罗斯消费者的用户体验。"

With the rising demand in Russia for made-in-China products, Express to Russian said goods from China are clearing customs in less time. "Now it takes about 10 days to deliver goods from China to the doorsteps of Russian online shoppers. The improvement in logistics is boosting Russian's demands for Chinese products," he said.

俄境通公司表示，随着俄罗斯对中国商品需求的不断增加，中国货物通过海关检查的时间也在缩减。崔勇说："现在，货物从中国运到俄罗斯网购用户手中，仅需10天左右。随着物流的发展，俄罗斯对中国商品的需求不断增长。"