Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc is poised to move into the U.S. market, with the help of one of its main stakeholders Google Inc, potentially setting up for a competition with U.S. online shopping leader Amazon.
The Chinese company is set to open its first flagship online store on Google's shopping platforms, as part of a drive to expand its presence beyond China and Asia and tap into more overseas markets, including in Europe and the U.S..
JD.com's flagship online store on Google will be open by the end of the year and will be aimed at selling products directly to U.S. consumers, Bloomberg reported last week. The move is the first concrete move between JD.com and Google, since the latter purchased a $550 million stake in the Chinese online shopping platform earlier this year, according to Bloomberg.
The news drew widespread attention in China, where some suggested that JD.com, which is the second-largest e-commerce platform in China behind rival Alibaba Group, is trying to challenge the dominance of Amazon in the U.S. and other overseas markets.
JD planned to make a selection of high-quality products available for sale through Google Shopping in multiple regions, the company announced in June.
Lu Zhenwang, founder of Shanghai Wanqing Commerce Consulting, said the move is just a first step for JD.com's push into the U.S. market and is far from posing any meaningful challenge for Amazon.
"In China, JD.com is known for its robust supply chain and inventory, but those things won't help the company much because it basically has to start from scratch and Amazon has been there for more than 20 years," Lu told the Global Times on Wednesday.
However, JD.com's experience could help Google, which aims to improve its e-commerce business, to compete with its chief rival Amazon, Lu noted.
For JD.com, the move is also a positive development in the company's overall overseas push, which has seen great initial success in Southeast Asia, Lu added.
JD.com has invested in several companies in Southeast Asia as part of its expansion plan in the region, including Vietnamese e-commerce provider Tiki.vn and a joint venture with Thai department store operator Central Group Co, according to the sohu.com report.
