(ECNS) -- Made-in-Chin products accounted for more than 70 percent of Russia's cross-border e-commerce transactions, and Chinese online stores were the most popular among foreign ones used by Russian consumers, according to a China-Russia cross-border e-commerce development report for 2015-16.
The China-proposed Belt and Road initiative is likely to usher in a "golden period" for the development of cross-border e-commerce, which will strongly support a bid by China and Russia to boost trade between the two to $200 billion by 2020, said the report released on Wednesday during a conference on e-commerce cooperation among Belt and Road countries held in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province.
According to Tang Bingyong, a Belt and Road advisor at the meeting, Russia boasts the largest number of Internet users in Europe, with its number of online shoppers topping 400 million. Consumption on e-commerce sites in Russia grew from $8 billion in 2010 to $16.4 billion in 2013, and the figure is expected to further rise to nearly $50 billion by 2020, it was added.
With an expansion in numbers of Russia's online shoppers, the country's cross-border e-commerce market will continue to grow at an annual rate of 10 percent, while made-in-China, being inexpensive and high quality, may see market share jumping from 30 to 60 percent, said the report. For Chinese enterprises under pressure from a downward economy, it was good news.
A powerhouse in China-Russia trade, Heilongjiang will work to expand cross-border e-commerce business while maintaining its existing economic and trade advantages in the Russian market, said an official from Heilongjiang's commerce department.
